Pokémon: True Journeys
by SCI-FIWIZARDMAN
Summary: A new story unfolds. In another world, another kindred spirit blazes the path to glory. Accompanied by his trusted compatriot, and many new friends along the way, one boy will travel the roads of the region with one goal in mind: Pokemon Supremacy. But all is not as it seems. On his travels, a true test of character awaits him, for what he truly believes in. This is Dustin's story
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, here it is. The first chapter of my new Pokemon fanfic. Well, here's the complete backstory.

I've always wanted to make a Pokemon fanfiction, really I have. Write down the details of my own adventures, share my fantasized experiences with my Pokemon, all of that. I just could never find the right way to get it down in writing while still sounding original, which is crucial to my sanity. Then, last week, inspiration hit. For most of us Pokemon fans, there is the game storyline and the anime storyline. Sometimes they intercept, but not usually. The best series in that regard was the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum series, and even THAT didn't do the best job. So I thought, insted of waiting for one, I'll just make one! Thus, Pokemon: True Journeys was born. We will follow a storyline that mixes the best of both the anime and video game plot elements. That's right, events from the TV series and the main storyline in the game will be overlapping in this story. If you don't quite understand what that means...well, just give it a chance. In a few chapters, you'll get what I'm talking about. And I promise, you won't be dissapointed with what I have to offer!

* * *

_Part 1: Black and White_

Chapter 1: Enter, Dustin!

_The Pokémon world! An astounding place that almost defies description! A world teaming with the most amazing creatures imaginable, gracing every nook and cranny of our wonderful planet, each wielding amazing powers, in numbers that may never be truly known in their entirety! Flying high above the clouds, swimming deep under the sea, and roaming the rolling expanse of the beautiful lands! Watchful caretakers all throughout recorded history and beyond. Wherever you may find yourself, chances are, Pokémon will be there too! Some live shoulder to shoulder alongside people, while others live solitary lives within their natural environments, while still others form vast communities, all expressing life in their own unique ways! Larger than life, breathtaking forms with equal majesty and measure, the world of Pokémon truly is world of wonder._

_Such a world holds many opportunities for discovery and excitement. These opportunities capture the fantasies of many. New sights around every corner, and new experiences at every turn, often shared with friends and companions. And so they set out on journeys of adventure, hard work and training, and excitement. These people hail from all corners of the globe, and come in every variety. Some have goals to capture and train Pokémon, compete in Pokémon battles, and grow in strength. Others would rather show off their Pokémon in contests, exhibiting beauty and strength equally with trained professionalism. And still others want nothing more than to live among Pokémon, to learn all they can about them, and make the world a better place for people and Pokémon alike. The possibilities are endless! Indeed, whether young or old, big or small, the lure of a Pokémon Journey is hard to resist!_

_The journey of one particular person is just getting underway! Enter, Dustin Sheen, a boy the age of 14 whose ultimate goal in life is to become the world's greatest Pokémon Trainer! An ambitious goal indeed, but with a determination like this, anything is possible! It's been a long time coming and now, after months of anticipation, a week of preparation, and a day of unbridled excitement while traveling across the ocean blue, his journey to become a true Pokémon Master is finally about to begin!_

_Casing point: the Unova Region! One of many lands in which his dream may be chased and achieved. Now we join him, on an airplane from the far-off land of Sinnoh, where he makes the final preparations alongside his faithful traveling companion. A new story is about to begin!_

* * *

"Hey, check this out! Look, at the horizon! You see it? We're almost there!" a brown-haired teenager exclaimed to his partner while mashing his face against the seat window.

Dustin Sheen, a soon-to-be full-fledged Pokémon Trainer. Dustin currently wore his favorite set of travel clothes (which had been chosen as his favorite travel clothes only the day before). On his chest, a lightweight, dark blue jacket, zipped about halfway up for comfort. On his waist, a pair of baggy, light grey shorts that may have been just a _bit _too big for him. Beneath the jacket and shorts, he wore his black-blue patterned wetsuit (surfing was big back in Sunnyshore City), which he personally thought went great with the rest of his clothes, in addition to just being comfy and snug. On his feet, basic red and black sneakers. On his head, doing absolutely nothing to hold back his insanely unruly hair, a Pokémon League visor, which he had bought at the airport before the flight. Finally, settled at his feet for the moment was his rectangular shoulder-strap bag, which he took with him almost everywhere.

Dustin's chocolate-brown eyes glittered with excitement. As he stared out the window, a small, blue form wiggled and pushed itself in next to him, also trying to get a good view of the approaching mass of land. The creature was almost canine in appearance, save for the fact that it stood upright on two legs and had a stronger, more lithe build. Most of the fur on its body was blue. Its legs and upper torso were colored black, as well as the area around its red eyes, giving it a masked appearance. It wore a small yellow collar around its neck, and small, rounded bumps were visible on its forepaws.

"Ro, rolu!" the creature cried in agitation.

Dustin looked down at his Pokémon and smiled sheepishly. "Oh, sorry Riolu," he said. "Go ahead, take a look."

Dustin edged away from the window, giving his Riolu enough space to look out of it comfortably. Riolu crammed his face against the window in a way similar to his trainer. Or rather, soon-to-be trainer. The shadow in the distance slowly became clearer. Soon the clouds cleared, and both were able to really see the Unova region in all of its splendor. Though it was still far away, and so somewhat obscure, they were now able to see along the oceanfront of the region, lined with green forests and what looked like small settlements near the coast. Dustin could have sworn he even saw what may have been a collection of skyscrapers really far into the distance.

"Rio…" Riolu murmured in admiration.

"Yeah, it sure is something," Dustin agreed. "Just think Riolu, we aren't even seeing the entire region! This is just a part of it!"

Leaving his Riolu to keep looking out the window, Dustin reached down into his bag and pulled out a small pamphlet. He opened it. On the first page was a marked map of the Unova Region, followed by details on various cities and towns throughout it.

"The Unova Region…" Dustin muttered to himself. He could hardly believe it. It all seemed so surreal. Here he was, a teenager, about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime. He was separated from his home, where he'd lived all his life, by miles of clear ocean water. He was about to enter a whole, completely new area, one that was very different from what he was accustomed to. And he was doing it all with his best friend and companion, Riolu. He had no idea what to expect, it was true. But that just made it even more exciting for him.

"Look Riolu," he tapped his partner on the shoulder and pointed to an area at the south eastern corner of the map, right next to the coastline, where a small blue dot was highlighted. "This is where we're gonna land, near Nuvema Town," he explained while Riolu peered over his arm. "We just have to look up the local Pokémon Professor once we touch ground. From there, we've got the entire region to explore!" he gestured to the rest of the map. "Man, I wonder what kinds of Pokémon live here. Probably nothing like we've seen in Sinnoh, huh?"

Riolu just shrugged. It wasn't like he had anymore idea than Dustin on what they would find down there.

Dustin grinned. "Eh, not like it really matters. Because, no matter what happens, we're going to the top! Number One in the world, right Riolu?"

"Rio!" the Pokémon agreed excitedly, and raised up one of his paws toward Dustin. Dustin responded by laughing and high fiving it.

Abruptly, the PA came on, a voice speaking through it. It was a bit difficult for Dustin to hear over the roar of the engines (and the snoring of the guy in front of him), but he was able to make out the words.

"Attention passengers. We are beginning our final descent into Nuvema Airport. Please return to your seats if you have not already done so, and turn off all electronic devices until we stop moving. The summer weather looks sunny and beautiful, with the temperature locked at a warm yet comfortable 82 degrees. Once again, we'd like to thank you for flying with Raptor Airlines, and we hope you enjoy your stay in Unova!"

The PA clicked off. Dustin quickly buckled his seatbelt, and did the same for Riolu, though the little guy hated being tied down by the waist.

"Sorry Riolu, it's just until we land. Try to stay still until then," Dustin told the squirming Pokémon.

In his own seat, Dustin was also squirming, but from excitement rather than discomfort. He looked out the window once more. Unova was more clearly visible now that they were closer. What he could see from his limited view included a long beach, a string of tiny islands, a small settlement in the distance, and beyond that, a sprawling forested region. He smiled.

_Look out Unova, _he thought. _Me and my Pokémon are coming in full throttle, and you're about to see something you've never seen before!_

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you are wondering, then yes, Dustin's appearance is based on the male protagonist from B2W2. If not, then now you know. It may seem unoriginal to some of you, but I'm not kidding, that kid's appearance is a pretty accurate visualization of a cartoon me. Given, my hair isn't _quite _that insane, but other than that, spot on. Besides, once we get REALLY late into the series (that's how I will be referring to this fanfiction), it will make perfect sense. Until then, sit back, relax, and enjoy the chapters as they pop up.

Oh, one last thing:

RIOLU IS ABSOLUTELY FREAKING EPIC LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!


	2. Chapter 2

AUTHOR'S NOTE: And here's #2! Just a quick request; if you do read this, and you think it's good, do me a favor? Could you suggest it to friends, or maybe just other users of the site? I'm trying to gether some publicity, and any help my readers can provide would be much appreciated. You especially, Coli Chibi! Thanks for being the first to review, my friend! To the rest of you, I highly recommend his current Pokémon fanfic. It's called 'Pokemon Black and White: Tony's Journey'. I won't spoil it for you. Go read it when you have free time. It's good!

Now, without further ado...

* * *

Chapter 2: Introductions

The plane rocked back and forth heavily as it hit the water. Dustin was caught off guard; he had expected the plane to be landing on a runway, since it had taken off on one. Not that he was complaining. He imagined that landing in water was much smoother than hitting solid ground.

The plane had descended rather uneventfully. Riolu had freaked out a bit from the g-forces (and Dustin couldn't blame him-that tickling sensation in his stomach had been extremely unpleasant), but other than that, not much happened. Now, as the plane slowed down, Riolu was starting to relax. Dustin, on the other hand, was just getting more and more giddy as the minutes passed.

_Well…here we are…we've landed…so to speak…now if only they would let us get out of these seats…_

Eventually, the seatbelt sign flashed off, and the other passengers wasted no time in getting up to stretch and retrieving their bags from the overhead bins. Dustin himself didn't have to retrieve anything, fortunately. Everything he needed was in his white carry-on. Mostly base essentials, such as an extra change of clothes, pajamas, a sleeping bag, a small first-aid kit, toiletries, a few wads of money, some snacks, and a couple cans of Pokémon food for Riolu. There were a few more-or-less miscellaneous items in there, like Riolu's favorite green scarf and Dustin's autographed photo of him and the Sinnoh Champion, but that was pretty much it. One couldn't afford to be too overly encumbered when on the road, after all.

Riolu was having trouble with his belt buckle, so Dustin helped him out with it. Once the little guy was free, he immediately hopped up and propped himself in his favorite position over Dustin's left shoulder, with his chest planted at the crook of Dustin's neck, forepaws hanging in front, and his hind legs dangling in the back. Dustin, for the life of him, could not imagine how that was comfortable in any way, but it made Riolu happy, so he didn't object.

"Rio ro?" Riolu inquired, looking over to the plane's exit, which those in the front of the plane were currently utilizing. There was a long line of people between them and the door.

"We're gonna have to wait until everyone in front of us gets off before we can leave, I think. We can't just barge through all those people, after all. Just be patient Riolu, we'll be out there soon."

"Rolu..."

* * *

As it turned out, Dustin telling Riolu to be patient was incredibly ironic. Riolu was at least somewhat contained while he waited. But the longer Dustin sat there, fidgeting and watching the line inch forward, the more it seemed like he and Riolu would never get off the plane.

_Come on, it's not like there's a brick wall they need to climb over! _He thought, agitated. _It's literally just walking down the aisle and turning left! What the heck is taking so long?_

Then again, maybe it was just the nerves that were making the wait seem longer than it really was. In truth, they were only on the plane for 3-4 minutes after landing. Not that Dustin cared about the specifics. All he cared about was that there was no longer anyone in front of his on the plane, and so he dashed forward, Riolu hanging on for dear life.

Dustin stopped at the exit. There, beyond the small, six-inch threshold was a whole new world. A sudden wave of unease gripped him. Was he really ready for this? Would he be able to take care of himself as well as his Pokémon out on the road? Did he even stand a chance as a single teenager and his Riolu?

Three answers came to his mind.

_Yes, yes, and…oh, yes._

With that, he descended the small metal staircase that had been set up against the plane to connect it with the concrete pier. At the last step, he jumped down, hitting the ground with a _thud._

His first step in the Unova Region. He was here at last.

Dustin couldn't contain himself any longer. He pumped both his fists into the air and shouted, "WOOOHOOOOO! WE'RE HERE, BABY!"

Then the pier became unusually quiet. Why? Because everyone who was within earshot had stopped and was now looking in his direction with odd expressions. And that was quite a lot apparently, considering the distant people who were giving him looks. He even didn't know his voice could carry that far.

Dustin anxiously smiled, embarrassed at the situation. Riolu simply sweat-dropped.

Just then, only a few yards away from the pier (or maybe it was more than that, as judging distances was hard when it came to the ocean), the surface of the water broke, and a Pokémon emerged. It appeared to be a pink fish, with a heart-shaped body and hand-like dorsal and ventral fins. It appeared to lack a recognizable tail fin. Its eyes were large and round, with golden irises and marks that looked like something resembling eyelashes.

Then the Pokémon splashed back into the ocean water, disappearing beneath the depths. Dustin waited to see if it would come up again, but no such luck.

He was stunned. That…he'd just seen his first Pokémon within the Unova region. And it was a Pokémon unlike anything he'd seen before…he lived next to a beach for crying out loud! Riolu was likewise gripped, with his eyes opened wide at where the Pokémon had been. If there was any remaining trepidation in Dustin after getting off the plane, it vanished at that moment. It finally clicked. This wasn't Sinnoh, where he'd grown up all his life. This wasn't his home. This was a whole different part of the world, with new places, new people, and new Pokémon. And he realized something: that he wanted to experience every last bit of it, alongside Riolu.

Taking in a deep breath, he turned around, his resolve now stronger than ever…

…and promptly bumped into the lady standing right behind him.

"Gah!" he yelped, stumbling backward. Right over the edge of the pier. "Wh-whoawoawoawoaaahhhhh!" he shouted, losing his balance and falling straight into the water, eliciting a giant splash.

For a moment, Dustin could actually see pretty well in the clear water; the seafloor was really easy to spot, being this close to shore, and he could see very far in every direction. One thing that caught his sight was a small school of those same heart-shaped Pokémon swimming by some distance away, their scales glimmering in the refracted sunlight.

Then is eyes started to burn from the salt water. Without a second thought, he shot for the surface, now coughing and sputtering for breath. His eyes smarted horribly. He instinctively closed them, not that it did anything to alleviate the pain. He raised one of his arms, using the other to help stay afloat, and began sightlessly searching for the pier, since his sense of direction had gotten all jumbled up during his brief swim. Not far away, he heard another, smaller splash, followed by the coughing of a familiar tiny voice.

_Riolu._

Dustin was about to reach out for Riolu when-

"Here, take my hand!"

He heard the voice somewhere to his right. Turning toward it, he cautiously probed the area with his hand. Eventually, he felt the warm touch of someone's skin. He grasped the hand, which grasped his in turn, and he was pulled forward and upwards out of the water. He sprawled out onto the concrete, trying to blink the salt out of his eyes. While doing so, he heard the same voice saying something else…to his Riolu. Dustin hesitantly got into a sitting position and opened his eyes, biting back the sting. In front of him was a young-looking woman with light brown hair, tied neatly into a…rather large bun. She wore a white lab coat over otherwise casual clothing; a white tank top and a green knee-length skirt. Large red earrings dangled from her ear lobes. Currently, the woman was lifting his Riolu, now sopping wet, from the water. Holding Riolu carefully in both hands, she gently placed him back onto the pier, where he proceeded to shake himself off, scattering water droplets all over the place. Dustin had to shield his eyes from the onslaught. Once he looked again, he had to suppress a laugh. Riolu now looked ridiculous; his fur had become all poofed up from being drenched and air dried so quickly.

"I'm so sorry!" the woman said to him, bowing her head slightly. Her voice was peppy, further adding to her youthful appearance. "I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that! Are you okay?"

Dustin didn't know how to respond without sounding snide. He quickly settled on a one-word response. "Yeah…"

"Oh, good! Here, let me help you up…" she extended her hand. After a moment, Dustin took it, getting pulled off the ground and onto his feet. "You must be Dustin, if I'm not mistaken."

Dustin froze. That was awfully sudden. He looked up at the woman. Her eyes were a bright, cyan green.

"Um…yeah, but…how do you know my name?"

The woman giggled. "I was told to expect you. Professor Rowan from the Sinnoh Region called ahead to let me know you were coming."

Dustin's eyes widened. "Wow, seriously? He already called you? Man, that guy is really on top of things…hey, wait. If he called you, does that mean you're…?"

The woman smiled. "Let me properly introduce myself. I'm Professor Juniper, the Unova Region's top expert on Pokémon origins."

Dustin stared at her for a second, open-mouthed. Then he broke into a full grin. "Wow! Uh…nice to meet you, I guess! Yeah, uh…my name's Dustin. Dustin Sheen," he said, immediately forgetting any animosity he had toward the woman.

The professor extended her hand, which Dustin took. "Pleasure to meet you!" she said enthusiastically.

"Likewise. So, uh…how did you know where to find me?"

"Well, for starters…" Juniper jerked her head at the plane behind them, "Rowan told me exactly which flight you would be arriving on. As for how I knew which one was you…well, I had a hunch that the kid shouting at the top of his lungs was the one I was looking for."

Dustin imagined that he looked pretty sheepish right then.

"Anyway," Juniper continued, "I see you have a Pokémon with you!"

"Hmm? Oh yeah!" Dustin looked down to see Riolu (still puffy) standing by his leg, looking up at the both of them. Dustin knelt down and allowed Riolu to climb back onto his shoulder before rising up again. "This is Riolu. Riolu, this is Professor Juniper."

"Reeerrr…" Riolu growled. Juniper looked slightly taken aback by this. Dustin swiftly intervened.

"Ah, sorry. Riolu can be…well, he's not great with strangers, and you…kinda just knocked us into the water, sooo…"

"Oh no, I understand! That was a bad first impression on my part." Juniper bowed forward so her face was level with Riolu's. "I'm terribly sorry about that, Riolu. Here," she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a relatively small can of Pokémon food-probably the snack size, "I know it's not much, but I want you to have this." She popped open the lid of the can and held it out to Riolu. Riolu cautiously leaned forward and sniffed it, then reached out and pulled out a cylindrical tablet. Unlike the normal ones that Dustin bought, which were plain brown, this one was had orange specks all over it. Riolu carefully nibbled on it. As soon as he did, his eyes lit up, and he shoved the rest of the piece into his mouth, chewing happily. He didn't stop there though; Riolu then dove into the rest of the can.

"Sheesh, not all at once Riolu!" Dustin observed. "Sorry Professor, he doesn't usually eat like this…"

"It's quite alright! I have plenty more where that came from!" Juniper pulled back the now-empty can and tossed it into a nearby waste basket. "I'm glad Riolu liked it. That was a special brand of Pokémon food, made specifically for Fighting-Types."

"Rio!" Riolu cried happily.

"Huh," Dustin mused. "I didn't know they made Pokémon food for different types. You know where I can get more of that?"

"Certainly! But first things first." She rose back up to her full height. "Rowan told me that you were planning on starting a journey in the Unova Region? If so, then we'd better get down to my lab. Once we're there, I can set you up with everything you're going to need."

"Cool!" Dustin said. "So, where's you lab?"

"About a mile north, in Nuvema Town," Juniper responded. "Don't worry, we won't have to walk there. My car is parked nearby. Let's go!"

* * *

Juniper owned a nice red, open-roofed SUV. Dustin was a bit hesitant to get in, given his clothes were still soaked, but Juniper had told him not to worry about it, so off they went. Back at the pier, the sun had kept the air warm enough that Dustin hadn't felt very cold in his drenched state. Now, however, as they both rode along a winding road through the forest, the wind chilled him to the bone. Juniper was nice enough to provide him with a small blanket from the backseat, but he was still uncomfortable. Fortunately, Nuvema Town wasn't very far from the airport, so he wouldn't have to wait long.

As they drove, Dustin kept a close eye on the tree line. He was watching for any other new Pokémon that might be roaming the woods. As he watched, he caught a brief flicker of movement in the trees, followed by what looked like a small doe leaping through the bushes.

"Hmm…"

"Ri! Rio!"

"Huh? Oh wow!"

Had Riolu not seen them first, Dustin probably would have missed them. Stationary, they camouflaged extremely well with the environment. A short ways ahead of them, a fast approaching, was a small herd of deer-like Pokémon. The upper sides of their bodies were colored deep green-matching the plant-life around them-and were rimmed and dappled with yellow patterns. The tips of their hooves and noses were black, and they each sported a yellowish floral tuft on their heads, and similar coloration on the insides of their tapering ears. There must have been at least ten of them, and they were all quietly observing the SUV as it rolled past. Once it did, they began to run and bound alongside it, keeping to the grass at the edge of the road. They were keeping a good pace; if Juniper had slowed down, they likely would have overtaken the car.

"Hey Professor, what are those?" Dustin asked, pointing at the Pokémon.

Professor Juniper looked over and smiled. "Those are Deerling, in their summer form. They're a very docile species, but also fun-loving, as you can see."

"What do you mean 'summer form'?"

"Oh, Deerling are unique in that they change appearance depending on the season. The color and scent of their coat alters to match the changing surroundings. It's a very effective defense mechanism."

"Cool…"

Further ahead, the treetops rustled, and a huge flock of grey bird-Pokémon appeared overhead, crying out chirping noises as they flew. Again, they didn't look like anything from the Sinnoh Region. Dustin was used to seeing flocks of Starly-a small bird Pokémon with brownish, black, and white feathers. These were similar in both size and shape, but they were clearly a different species.

Another few minutes passed. During that time, the Deerling broke away from their pursuit and disappeared back into the forest. Shortly following this, Dustin caught sight of something else; something that looked like a small brown rodent. It had red eyes and a long, straight tail, with a scruffy white tip. The moment the creature saw the car approaching, the tail shot up into the air, and the thing started making odd noises. Dustin only saw it for a moment before it vanished into a bush.

"So, what do you think, Dustin? These Pokémon are new to you, right?" Juniper asked as she drove.

"Right," Dustin acknowledged.

"I remember the first time I saw a Pokémon from a different region." Juniper smiled reminiscently. "It was in the Kanto Region. A little Rattata came up to me and started sniffing by bag, where I was keeping some food. Being born and raised here in Unova, it was quite a shock!"

"Um…what's a Rattata?"

"Oh, that's right. You wouldn't know about them would you? Being from the Sinnoh Region and all." She looked over to him where he was sitting in the passenger seat. "As you might already know, Sinnoh Pokémon are quite rare around these parts. The same goes for pretty much every other foreign species. You'll be hard-pressed to find any Pokémon that aren't native to Unova."

"Really? Is Riolu rare too?"

Riolu perked up at hearing his name.

"Oh yes, definitely." Juniper looked down at the Pokémon in question. "As far as we know, Riolu don't exist in the wild here in Unova. To be honest, yours is the first I've ever seen. Most of what I know about them is from basic research."

"Ha! Hear that Riolu? Not 15 minutes off the plane, and you're already special!"

"Riolu!"

The professor smirked. "Of course, that being said, there are plenty of Pokémon here in Unova that can't be found anywhere else. But you'll see that soon enough."

As they continued driving, they passed a small lake, where another flock of large bird-like Pokémon was resting in the water. They all had primarily white plumage. Their beaks were long and yellow, with several white-colored feathery features adorning their heads. They possessed long, curving necks, which moved and lifted the head with seemingly little effort. Their wings, Dustin noted, were positioned in a way unconventional for most birds, closer to the back than to the sides. As the SUV rolled past, they shook their feathers and took off from the water. Dustin was now able to see their undersides as they flew; two light-blue feathery features, like those on the sides of their heads, were present on their bellies. Their legs were proportionally small compared to the rest of their bodies, with dark webbed feet. They all looked graceful as they rose higher and higher into the air, small droplets of water falling from their bodies.

Dustin looked down at Riolu, who was observing the birds with careful attentiveness.

"A whole new world…"

* * *

AUTHOR'S NOTE: TA-DAAA! I once again blow the world's mind with my writing!

Okay, now that the annoying pompous self-flattery bit is done...

READER QUESTION TIME! These should keep things interesting for you folks. Keep in mind that not all of these will be related to Pokémon. Here it is.

What's your favorite generation of Pokémon thus far, and why? Leave answers in the reviews. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: _So, this chapter took WAY longer than I would have liked. But let's face it, Life can be a bitch sometimes. I've had loads and loads of school crud to deal with, along with tons of other stuff. This was actually ready to upload last weekend, but...well, to be blunt, one of my best friends died in a plane crash.

Nicole Parfitt. She and her dad died right before Thanksgiving. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the full concept of it. But, yeah. Like I said, Life can be a real bitch. Or, in this case, her demented, shadowy brother, Death. In any case, she was one of my besties, and liked Pokemon about as much as I do (though she was kind of a closet fan). She also really liked my writing. That said, I've decided to dedicate this story to her memory.

R.I.P.

Well, coming off of that depressing note, I originally planned for this chapter to be combined with the next one, but I figured that you've all waited long enough, so I split it up. As such, not much happens in this chapter. Still, read it for kicks or something.

Now try to forget the sad news, at least while you read. Don't want to have your spirit dampened while you're trying to enjoy yourself, do you?

* * *

Nuvema

Nuvema Town ended up being much larger than Dustin expected. That is to say, it was still small compared to what he was used to, which was huge buildings lined with electric bulletin boards and busy streets that were always crowded, no matter the time of day. In all his life within the Sinnoh region, he'd only been to one other town before, and that was Sandgem Town. That place had admittedly been little more than a few houses strewn about a massive clearing with a single road running between all of them. Dustin had anticipated a similar, if not identical, layout. What he saw instead was something very different, but in a good way. The buildings here, while small, were numerous enough that they almost lined up side-by-side. There were even a couple stores scattered here and there, from the looks of it. The buildings mostly had blue rooftops, with occasional interrupts of red and yellow. Along the sidewalks, Dustin caught sight of simple pedestrians calmly going about their business, as well as numerous groups of children. They were usually playing with a Pokémon or two, none of which he recognized.

Not long after they rode into town, Professor Juniper's laboratory came into view. The building itself was, as opposed to the situation with the rest of the town, exactly as Dustin had envisioned it. Well, not _exactly_, but pretty close. A large circular driveway led to the main entrance, which was underneath a rounded canopy. Like some of the other buildings in town, the lab had a red-shingled rooftop. The walls were a light beige color. In the front of the building more than the sides, the walls were lined with windows, mostly toward the bottom. Dustin couldn't see through them due to the angle of the sun, but he imagined that there was a large lobby-type room on the first floor. On the far corner of the lab was a tall metal tower with round plates that Dustin assumed was a satellite dish of some sort. Also, from where they were parked, Dustin was able to see some of the area surrounding the lab. Most of it was empty fields, save for grass and trees, but it looked like there were a few greenhouses at the edges of the property.

He had to admit, it was all very nice. Riolu was likewise affected, marveling at the laid-back scenery. It was definitely a refreshing change from the environment both he and Riolu had grown up in. Sure, Dustin was accustomed to tall buildings, lots of people, blaring city noises, and bright lights, but he was still able to appreciate places like this. Peaceful places.

"Well, here we are!" Juniper announced as the car slowed to a stop in front of the main entrance. "So, Dustin, Riolu," she said, pulling the keys out of the ignition, "You both ready to get started?"

"You bet!"

"Rio!"

* * *

The main entrance opened to a large lobby, just as Dustin had suspected. It was a very open area. Most of the room was empty space in the middle. The floor was smooth tile. A few sets of tables and couches lined against the window-walls. On the far side of the room was what looked like a reception desk and, on either side of it, two corridors that likely led to the rest of the lab.

Why any lab would need a lobby this big was beyond him. Especially since he, Riolu, and Juniper were the only ones in there. Then again, this lab was much bigger than the one he'd seen in Sandgem Town, as well as the town itself. Maybe this place got more visitors? Or maybe it was just a holiday?

As soon as he entered the building, he started shivering. Naturally, the A.C. was on, it being the middle of summer and whatnot. Dustin still hadn't fully dried off from his little swim earlier. On his shoulder, he could feel Riolu shaking a bit too. His fur was still a tad damp, but at least it had fallen back to its normal state. Dustin's clothes, on the other hand, while no longer dripping wet, were still cold, and somewhat clinging to his body like an extra layer of skin. It wasn't that bad, though; Dustin was able to shrug it off.

"So…this is your lab, huh?" he pondered aloud. "Where is everyone?"

Juniper was right behind him. "Oh, my assistants? They're around here somewhere. I always ask them to look after the lab whenever I'm out. If anything, they're probably doing their own independent research."

Dustin nodded his understanding. Then a thought suddenly came to him. "Hey professor," he said, turning around, "What kind of research do you do here, anyway? I remember that Professor Rowan studied Pokémon evolution or something…"

"Ah, interested in my work are you?" Juniper smiled. She sounded genuinely pleased. "Well, I study Pokémon origins. More specifically, I research to find out the conditions under which Pokémon came into existence, as well as their history, both individually and with humans."

Dustin scratched his head. "So, you're like…a historian?"

Juniper laughed slightly. "No, not exactly. I don't write or record the past. I just study it to get the information I need. Aside from that, I also use my lab equipment to analyze things. Fossils, ancient script, energy fields…you know, the usual scientist stuff."

Now Dustin was confused, and he could tell from their aura link that Riolu was too. "So, uh…how does that work exactly?"

"Which part?"

"Ah…the first, middle, and last part?"

Now _Juniper_ was the one with the perplexed look. "I suppose it _is _a bit of a complex science," she laughed. "Umm…gosh, how should I explain this?" She looked up. "Well, my work doesn't involve interpreting or chronicling actual historical events, which is what historians do. I study information on the past, as well as perform experiments on existing subjects, in order to determine more about Pokémon as a whole. In doing so, I hope to learn exactly how, where, and when exactly Pokémon came into existence." She looked back at him. "How was that?"

Dustin's eyes had a glazed look to them. Finally, he said, "I'm still lost."

Juniper tapped her chin, as though deep in thought. "I don't know how else to clarify it…" Then she snapped her fingers. "I know! Instead of me trying to describe it, how about I just show you?" She motioned down one of the corridors with her hand. "I'd be more than happy to give you a tour of the facilities, if you like."

This made Dustin blink. "Wow, really?"

Again, Juniper smiled. "Of course! I'm always happy to share my work with young minds!"

Dustin was a still a bit flustered from the offer, but in a good, excited kind of way. He turned his head so he could see Riolu on his shoulder. "Whaddaya think, Riolu? You wanna see the lab?"

"Ro, rio riolu!" Riolu said enthusiastically.

"Well, it's settled then!" Dustin looked back at Juniper. "We'd love to have a tour, thanks."

"No problem! Come on, I know just where to start!"

* * *

And that was how Dustin ended up spending most of the afternoon; strolling back and forth through the various rooms of Juniper's lab, which (Dustin found this strange) also doubled as her house. Yes, Professor Juniper apparently lived in her own laboratory. He learned this at about the same time as he met Juniper's Pokémon. He and Juniper went up to the second floor, and upon doing so (Dustin had a feeling that this wasn't originally part of the planned tour) he found a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and living room, each filled with all manner of household items, including a TV, a couch, several chairs, some lamps, the usual bathroom and kitchen appliances, and a large queen-sized bed. That little revelation caught him off guard. The _really_ weird thing, though, was that literally almost _every _square inch of her house was covered in papers and documents. Seriously, it was like infinity freaking bazillion papers just lying around, scattered in the most ridiculous places. Some were randomly plopped around on the floor. Some were taped to the wall. Some were on top of the TV. Some were being used as coasters for empty coffee cups. Some were under the fridge. Hell, a few were even in the sink! Just…_major _disorganization issue.

When Juniper herself came up behind him, and saw what Dustin was seeing, her face immediately became flushed red with embarrassment. "Oh my…" she laughed nervously. "Well, this is awkward! I'm sorry about the mess, I usually don't have the opportunity to clean up…ah, I know!"

She reached into one of her coat pockets and pulled a small, spherical object. The top half of it was red, while the bottom half was white, and a tiny button protruded from it. Dustin caught his breath as he instantly recognized it; a Poké Ball. As Juniper pressed the button, the ball suddenly grew to the size of an orange.

"Come on out, Minccino!" Juniper spoke, tossing the Poké Ball into the air. At the height of its rise, the capsule burst open, bright light-energy flooding. On the floor, the light started to manifest into a solid form. Juniper caught the now-empty Poké Ball as it fell back down. Once the light died down, Dustin was able to clearly see the creature Juniper had called out.

Again, it was unlike anything Dustin had ever seen in Sinnoh. The Pokémon was small, furry, and gray-colored, sporting scruffs of fur on its forehead, ear insides, and neck. Its large ears, located to the sides of its head, had red insides partly covered up by the aforementioned tufts or fur there. Its eyes were large and brown, with a small, dot-like nose. Its limbs were somewhat rounded and small, and its tail was long and particularly furry. And it was extremely adorable.

"Cool!" Dustin exclaimed once he saw it. "What's this one called?"

"That, Dustin, is a Minccino," Juniper answered. "He's my little helper around the lab. Say hi, Minccino!"

"Ccino!" the creature cried in greeting.

Riolu suddenly jumped down from Dustin's shoulder, curiosity on his features. Cautiously, Riolu walked up to the new Pokémon. Minccino cocked its head to one side, also curious.

"Ri?" Riolu asked.

"Min?" Minccino responded.

"Ri…rio ri?"

"Ccino." Minccino shook its head.

"Rio…ri, Riolu!"

"Ccino min, Minccino!"

Both Pokémon smiled, as though they'd known each other forever.

"Ri! Rolu ri riolu!"

"Minccino!"

_Heh…glad to see Riolu is already making friends, _Dustin thought.

"Minccino," Juniper started, kneeling down so she was closer to eye-level with her Pokémon, "I'm sorry to ask, but I'm a bit busy right now. Would you mind cleaning this up for me?" she gestured to the surrounding area. Minccino took one look at where it was, and that cute face speedily dissolved into a disappointed frown. Juniper saw this, so she added, "Do a good job, and I might throw in some extra Pecha berries for dinner tonight!"

Just like that, Minccino's expression transformed into one of excited confidence. "Min!" it announced happily.

"Good, thanks Minccino." Juniper stood up and faced Dustin. "Well, let's continue our tour then. Downstairs," she added with a smile.

"Right," Dustin said, who was just casually watching the whole thing. At Dustin's signal, Riolu returned to his shoulder, and the three of them retreated down the staircase while Minccino was already getting to work, sweeping its tail over the floor and pushing the papers into one pile. Dustin did not envy the task before it, Pecha berries or no.

* * *

Surprisingly, Dustin was absorbing the information from the tour quite well. Riolu was more-or-less passive about it, since most of the tour involved machinery and equipment that he would never really have to know about, but Dustin was curious. It was definitely an interesting topic, Juniper's research.

About an hour after awkwardly returning to the main floor, they were in one of the numerous lab rooms within the complex. This particular area, Juniper was explaining to Dustin, was where she and her assistants performed carbon dating procedures, recording and filing away the information with a computer. The computer interface was a massive touch screen set up against the wall. Even now, various figures and images that Dustin couldn't begin to understand the meaning of were flashing on the display. Below that, an equally long desk of controls and buttons stretched out from one end of the wall to the other. Against the opposite wall were a few storage containers, carts, and some boxes of notes (it scared Dustin to think of anyone typing or writing that much until he realized that most were just printed out). On the third wall, sunlight streamed in through windows. Finally, in the center of the room, a large rectangular table-like machine sat idle with an array of buttons, lights, coils, holders, and other stuff he couldn't indentify.

"This," Juniper said, referring to the table, "is where we put the object or objects we wish to scan. Sometimes it's fossils, sometimes stone carvings. We can even scan living, breathing Pokémon if we need to. These glass domes protect the object, whatever it may be, from any outside influence while it is being scanned, while the rods inside hold the object in place, unless it's a Pokémon, in which case we just ask it to stay still. From there, we use the built-in scanners to run a series of tests; carbon dating, along with X-rays and infrared, among other things. After that, the results show up over here," she moved over to the computer monitor. "This is where all the real work is done. After we get the results, we can review and cross-reference data. What's more, this computer is linked to a large databank that includes every other computer in the facility. So I could run an experiment in this room, and then view the results in my house upstairs! Now, let me show you something else over here. I think you'll find it very-"

"Professor Juniper!"

The electric sliding door to the room slid open, and a stout young man with dark hair in a bowl-cut, wearing an orange shirt and a lab coat, walked in.

Juniper looked over him. "Yes Thomas, what is it?"

The man, Thomas, spoke, "There's a new trainer here who's about to start on his journey."

_Who, me? _Dustin immediately thought.

"New trainer?" Juniper wondered aloud, looking at the boy and his Riolu. "That's odd…I thought Dustin here was my only appointment for today…"

"No, this trainer is a boy from here in Nuvema Town," Thomas continued.

"Oh…oh!" Understanding crossed over Juniper's features. "It's really that time again?"

"Yes, he's waiting for you in the lobby. Would you like me go get the Pokémon?"

"I would appreciate that, thank you Thomas."

Thomas nodded and left, the door closing itself behind him.

"Well," Juniper said after a moment, "It looks like we'll have to put this on hold for now. Duty calls."

"What does he mean, 'go get the Pokémon'?" Dustin asked. To his surprise, Juniper actually laughed.

"What are you talking about? You think I just carry Poké Balls and Pokédexes for the fun of it?" She smiled good-naturedly. "One of my jobs as a Pokémon Professor is supplying new trainers with not just their equipment, but also their starter Pokémon. Don't tell me you didn't know that?"

"Oh…uh…" Now that Dustin thought about it, it _did _seem pretty obvious. Professor Rowan had done the same thing for new trainers back in Sinnoh. He hadn't known that it was a job shared by _all _Pokémon Professors, though.

"I have an idea," Juniper said, interrupting Dustin's embarrassed silence. "Why don't you come with me? It might be a good experience for you to see the whole process."

Truth be told, Dustin would have requested to go along anyway. He was just happy that the professor had suggested it, which saved him from any further potential embarrassment. The expression on Dustin's face, shared by Riolu, who had been quietly hanging on Dustin's shoulder throughout the exchange, was more than enough of an answer for Juniper.

* * *

_Author's Note: _AAANNNDDDD that's a wrap. Next chapter is already almost done, so stay tuned. Also, I'd like to make a special note, and direct those of you who are interested to check out the 'Pokemon Grandmaster Tourney 1' fic by MegaMunchkin. It definitely isn't your usual fanfic. I, for one, have already entered the tournament. Yeah, it's one of those OC-Accepting fics where we all pitch in and help it reach fruition. But this time, instead of a story, we're all gonna compete into a Pokemon Tournament! I dunno how that's gonna work, but it sure sounds fun. Check it out if you're interested, and spread the word people!

And now, it **READER QUESTION TIME!**

*Ahem* For those of you Pokemon Mystery Dungeon fans out there, when the new game 'PMD: Magnagate and the Infinite Labyrinth' is finally released, which Pokemon do you think you will pick, as both hero and partner?


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: _Aaaaannnnndddd Chapter 4 is up. Well, those of you who watch the series should recognize much of what happens in this chapter. Even if you don't, though, it's all good. Just remember, everyone, this story is crossing over the anime and the games! That fact will become much more abundantly clear later on, but for now, jsut enjoy the chapter!

* * *

A Display of Strength

On the trip back down the hallway, Dustin couldn't take his eyes off the cart that Juniper's assistant had grabbed from somewhere and taken with them. All three of them were walking side-by-side; with Juniper in the middle, Dustin on her left, and Thomas pushing the cart along on her right. Nested atop the cart, in spherical holders, were three Poké Balls. Dustin knew that these Poké Balls each contained one of the Unova starter Pokémon, thanks to a brief explanation from Juniper, and his mind was awash with excitement. He remembered the set of Sinnoh starters from when he'd first met Professor Rowan; Turtwig, Chimchar, and Piplup. Turtwig, the Grass-type starter, had been a rather lazy turtle-like Pokémon with twin leaves on top of its head. Chimchar, the Fire-type, was the opposite; a hyperactive monkey Pokémon with a small flaming tail. Finally, Piplup, the Water-type, had been a penguin Pokémon with a large round head and a proud personality. Thinking about it, Dustin couldn't help but be extremely curious as to what the Unova starters were like, and how they would be different. The thought made him giddy.

This was somewhat annoying for Riolu, because Dustin had a tendency to bounce on his heels when he was giddy.

They were nearing the end of the hallway, and Dustin could see into the lobby. The lighting had changed a bit, given that the sun had moved farther west over the past two hours, but it was still afternoon, and still plenty bright enough.

_That must be him,_ Dustin thought when he saw the lone figure standing casually in the center of the lobby. He looked about the same age as Dustin, and the same height too. His hair was dirty blonde, long and hanging straight down. He wore an unzipped orange fleece with pockets at either waist that looked connected to a dark blue hoodie underneath it (Dustin remembered seeing those in stores; shirts and sweaters that looked like two separate articles of clothing until you tried to put them on and realized that they were conjoined at the sleeves). Beneath that, it looked like he was wearing a purple shirt. His pants were a light grey, the same color as Dustin's shorts. On his back was a typical, purple-and-black patterned backpack. He kept turning around to face different angles, holding out a small teal-colored object in his hand. He stopped whatever it was he was doing as he saw them approach and turned to face them.

"Hello Trip, welcome!" Juniper said as they emerged into the lobby area. Thomas slowed the cart to a stop, and the three of them stood alongside it. The boy started to approach them. Suddenly, on Dustin's shoulder, Riolu made a tiny whine-like noise and retreated so that he was partly concealed further behind Dustin's shoulder.

_Probably just shy, _Dustin thought as the boy, Trip, started to speak.

"Hi Professor Juniper!" he greeted with a smile, stopping in front of the professor. "I'm finally ready to set off on my journey as a Pokémon Trainer!"

"I know you've waited a long time for this day, Trip." Juniper smiled brightly. "Welcome to the world of Pokémon!"

Dustin took a good, long look at Trip. He had that look of unbridled excitement and anticipation, and Dustin saw it. Thus, at that moment, Dustin stepped forward. "Hey, so, it's Trip, right? Nice to meet you!" Dustin extended his hand out toward the boy.

Trip turned his attention to Dustin, as though just now noticing that he was there, and his excited expression immediately fell to one of rude indifference. The change was so sudden, it almost startled Dustin.

"Who are you?" he asked, simply and bluntly.

Dustin blinked. "Uh…"

"Trip, meet Dustin," Juniper said. "He's come all the way from Sunnyshore City!"

"That's me!" Dustin confirmed.

"Sunnyshore? In the Sinnoh region?" Trip appeared to be studying Dustin with his cold, pale grey eyes.

Trip wasn't making any move to shake Dustin's hand, so he slowly withdrew it as he answered, hesitantly, "Um…yeah."

Trip was silent for a moment. Then, out of nowhere, he started chuckling to himself.

"What's so funny?" Dustin asked, confused.

"Oh, it's nothing," Trip smirked. "See, I was just thinking that someone like you would be from the boonies."

…

_That _comment caught Dustin off-guard. "Excuse me?" he asked, a bit offended. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Trip shrugged. "It means exactly what it sounds like. You're from the boonies. Don't feel bad about it; we can't all be from the civilized places, after all."

_Oh, and Sunnyshore City isn't a civilized place? _Dustin was about to retort when Trip asked his next question.

"So what are you doing in Unova then, if you're from Sinnoh?"

Whatever Dustin was about to say, he forgot as he answered the question proudly. "I'm here to take on the Unova League! I'm gonna become number one in the world!"

…a few seconds of silence elapsed. Trip stared long and hard. Then he shook his head. "Whatever. Good luck with that."

Riolu slowly peered out over Dustin's shoulder, doing his best to remain hidden (which wasn't easy with the pointed ears). The other human that his trainer was talking to was still there…the aura that he gave off was difficult to interpret. Not like Dustin's. Dustin's aura always clearly reflected whatever he was feeling, always changing and sending out emotional waves, which were easy for Riolu to pick up on. But the other one's aura was like an unreadable shell of gray. There were occasional flickers of color here and there, but not enough for Riolu to tell what he was thinking. This was somewhat unsettling for Riolu; most of his social skills relied on being able to read others' emotions, and this person was very good at hiding his emotions.

Juniper reentered the conversation, albeit slowly, given the newfound tension in the air. "Right then…so, Trip, are you ready to select your first Pokémon?"

Trip's attention snapped back to the professor. "Yes, please! Sorry for getting sidetracked," he replied enthusiastically. Dustin became similarly stimulated; even though he wasn't the one picking out a Pokémon, he was still excited to see them.

Juniper nodded and took the two steps toward the cart that Thomas had brought; he was still there, but standing a few feet away, silently watching. As Juniper reached for one of the three Poké Balls, Trip became noticeably more tense, and Dustin's heart started beating faster from anticipation.

_This is it…_

_Here we go…_

"Alright then." Juniper grabbed the Poké Ball on the far left and held it out for them to see. "Now, you choose your Pokémon from among these three types. First up is Tepig, a Fire-type!" As she said this, she threw the Poké Ball into the air, where it promptly burst open, liquid light flooding out. The light reformed on the ground into a small, pig-shaped creature. Primarily orange in coloration, it had additional colors of black, pink, and yellow on various portions of its body. It had large, ovular eyes, an archetypically pig like ruddy-pink nose, and a thick stripe of yellow over its snout. Much of its face had a black coloration, and its ears, long and oblong, were positioned closely together atop its head. It had short legs, with the extremities of its forefeet being black. There was also a band of black on its lower back and rear, from which extended its coiled tail, topped with a ruddy-red bauble-like adornment.

"Teeehh?" The Pokémon looked up curiously at the two new faces. Trip looked down at it with a hard-to-read expression, but remained where he was. Dustin, on the other hand, knelt down in front of it.

"So this is Tepig, huh?" He stuck out his hand meaning to pet it on the forehead. However, once he got within three inches, the Pokémon made a sudden snorting sound, and it breathed out a plume of glowing orange embers, which would have singed Dustin's hand had he not pulled it away in time.

"Gah!" he yelped, waving out a nonexistent flame. He laughed nervously. "Yup, _definitely _a Fire-type!"

"Was there ever any doubt?" Trip grumbled, completely indifferent to Dustin's panic.

"Everyone okay? Juniper asked. After a shaky nod from Dustin and a shrug from Trip, she continued. "Okay. Next is Oshawott, a Water-type!"

Again, she grabbed one of the Poké Balls and tossed it into the air. Again, the ball popped open, and the sound of energy filled the room as light gushed out. This time, the light energy took the shape of a small otter-like Pokémon.

"Oshaaah!" it cried out once the light dissipated, putting on the most charming face it could manage. It was bipedal, primarily light blue, dark blue, and white in color. It had a rounded, spherical white head, with small, triangular dark-blue ears to the sides. Its eyes were large, dark, and ovoid; its dark-orange nose was shaped like an oval on its side. It also possessed black speckles on its cheeks, and light blue bubble-esque features composed a collar around its neck. Its torso was also light blue, decorated with a pale yellow seashell object in the center. Its arms were small, white, digit-less and somewhat rounded, while its feet actually had discernible digits, being dark blue and flipper-shaped. Finally, it possessed a slightly plank-shaped dark blue tail and a pair of fangs that became visible once it opened its mouth.

"Aaawwww!" Dustin cooed. "Look at you! Aren't you the cutest?"

Oshawott's cheeks grew red from Dustin's comment as it rubbed the back of its head with one of its little arms. "Osha…oshawott…"

Trip simply gave Oshawott a cold stare (which it did not notice) and shook his head slightly.

"And finally…" Juniper continued, grabbing the last Poké Ball, "we have Snivy, a Grass-type!"

Once more, the Poké Ball opened after Juniper threw it into the air. The light that was released reformed into a creature that was almost serpentine in appearance, but had some noticeable differences. Most of its body was green, while it had a cream-colored underside. A yellow stripe ran down the length of its back and tail, and it also had yellow markings around its large eyes, which were closed, extending from its eyelids. Yellow, curved structures protruded from its shoulder areas and bent backwards, almost resembling leaves or small wings, and they gave the Pokémon the appearance of wearing a collar. Also, in spite of being rather snake-like in appearance, it looked to have fully-developed limbs; its slender arms were the same green as the rest of its body, leaf-like, and had three fingers, while its tiny feet matched its underside in color and had no digits whatsoever. Its tail had a large, palmate leaf with three prongs at the end of it.

The Pokémon opened its eyes, revealing them to be a deep, dark scarlet. "Sniiiivy!" it cried, announcing its presence while crossing its short, leafy arms.

"Hey, this one looks pretty cool!" Dustin observed, kneeling down to it. The Snivy, however, merely stuck up its chin (or where its chin would have been) and turned away from Dustin, as though disregarding his presence. Dustin was surprised by this action. Trip raised an eyebrow at it.

"These are the three Pokémon that you can choose from." Professor Juniper clapped her hands twice, and the three Pokémon-Tepig, Oshawott, and Snivy-quickly lined up in front of Trip, side by side. The whole movement looked rehearsed. "So Trip, which one will it be? You can pick any one of them, but only one. Choose carefully."

From off to the side, Dustin crossed his arms and hummed in thought. "All three of them seem like they could be good choices…"

"Hey, don't forget, _I'm _the one picking a Pokémon, not you," Trip stated.

"I know that!" Dustin defended. "I'm just saying, if it were me, I'd have trouble deciding."

Trip didn't respond. He looked down at the trio of starters. Tepig was sitting on it haunches, looking up at Trip with its head tilted. Oshawott was looking up at him with hopeful eyes and a giant smile. Snivy had its eyes closed and was facing away from Trip, either unconcerned or uncaring.

Trip pulled something out of his front pocket. The same teal object from before…a digital camera, Dustin realized. He held out the camera and snapped three quick photos, one of each of the Pokémon, before he pocketed it once more. "Professor Juniper, I've decided," he announced. He looked at her. "I'm choosing Snivy."

Snivy opened its eyes and smiled smugly. Tepig's ears drooped down, clearly disappointed. Oshawott, for one, looked utterly devastated; it fell over with a look of despair.

Juniper nodded and grabbed two more objects off of the cart; a red, rectangular device and a thin, cylindrical container. She moved over to Trip and handed him the device first.

"Okay. First of all, here's your very own Pokédex," she told him as he took it from her. "It can provide you with data on just about any species of Pokémon you may encounter on your travels."

"Thanks Professor!" Trip exclaimed. He gazed at the Pokédex in his hand for a moment. Then he pointed it at Snivy, pressing a black button at the bottom as he did so. The part of the Pokédex with the screen on it slid upward, revealing a second screen underneath it. A red scanner light briefly shined out from the back of the Pokédex, running up and down Snivy's form. After only a moment, it disappeared. Dustin couldn't see what was on the dual screens from his angle, but he could still hear what was said as the synthesized voice of the Pokédex's VI spoke.

"**Snivy, the Grass Snake Pokémon. Cool, calm, and collected, Snivy is an intelligent Pokémon that uses photosynthesis to collect energy, which is done by exposing the leaf on its tail to sunlight. When it is not feeling well, its tail droops. It uses vines far more adeptly than its hands."**

_Oh, so _that's _how a Pokédex works! _Dustin thought. After scanning his Pokémon, Trip put the Pokédex in his pocket.

"These are you Poké Balls," Juniper said, giving him the cylinder, which Dustin saw contained five Poké Balls in their miniaturized state, stacked atop one another. "Use these to capture wild Pokémon. You can carry up to six Pokémon around with you."

"Yeah, that's basic stuff," Trip commented as he pocketed the Poké Balls.

"And this," Juniper continued, holding out one more of the spheres, "is Snivy's Poké Ball. Take good care of it!"

"Right!" Trip took the Poké Ball and held it out toward Snivy, the silver button pointing right at it. "Alright Snivy, so let's get this journey started!" he exclaimed, and a straight red beam of energy shot out from the button and enveloped Snivy. Snivy's form soon vanished within the light, and the beam retracted itself. Snivy was gone, having been recalled into the Poké Ball.

Trip turned back to look at Professor Juniper. "I'll be on my way now, Professor."

Juniper smiled. "Have a great journey, Trip. Best of luck to you."

"Thanks! Thanks for everything!"

And with that, he turned around and headed for the lab's exit.

Tepig and Oshawott were still where they had been, moping over not being chosen (in Oshawott's case, it was still frozen in place with that crushed expression). Juniper knelt down next to them. "Hey, don't be sad, you two. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before you both get picked by new trainers as well!"

This seemed to raise their spirits, but only somewhat.

"Teeehh…"

"Oshaaa…"

Dustin watched Trip as he left. On one hand, he was still a bit upset by what Trip had said (no, he hadn't already forgotten about that). They meet for the first time, and the guy comes right out with insults? What had Dustin done to deserve that?

But at the same time, he felt happy for Trip. Before he had met Riolu, Dustin had had no desires to even become a Trainer. He'd…he didn't know what he'd wanted to be at the time. Pokémon Trainer certainly hadn't been on the list. But when Riolu's egg hatched for him…when those red eyes opened for the first time, innocent and unknowing, and saw him looking back…that moment of elation, of pride, and of anticipation for what would come next…it had been a momentous moment for Dustin. It had been where his journey _truly _began. It was the feeling of having obtained his first Pokémon. He imagined that Trip was feeling the same way right about now. If not, then at least something similar.

Upon thinking about his partner, Dustin craned his neck to see if the little guy was still there. He was, and now coming out of his hiding place. Dustin laughed internally at his friend's shyness.

Then he suddenly had a thought. Dustin started jogging toward the exit, calling out behind him, "Hey Professor, I'll be back soon!"

"Oh…well, okay!" Juniper called back after him. She watched him leave through the sliding glass doors. So did Oshawott.

For the Pokémon had also just had a thought, pertaining to the boy in question.

* * *

Outside of the Pokémon Lab…

Trip walked at a casual pace down the dirt road leading away from the lab, and into the woods of Route 1. He was thinking about plausible strategies to utilize with his new Pokémon when…

"Hey! Trip! Wait up!"

"Huh?"

Trip stopped upon hearing his name called. He turned around to see that kid from before, Dustin, sprinting toward him.

"Oh, it's you…" Dustin slowed to a stop in front of him. "What do you want?"

"Hey…I was wondering…" Dustin was panting slightly (he'd accidentally gone down the wrong path after leaving the lab, and so had to double back). "You're a trainer now. Does that mean you're off to go challenge the Gyms?"

"Well duh, that's basic," Trip sighed. "Pokémon Trainers go around challenging different Pokémon Gyms and trying to win eight Gym Badges. All so they can enter the Unova League. Don't tell me you didn't know that."

"I…umm…" Dustin shuffled his feet in embarrassment. In truth, Dustin had known how the Pokémon League system worked from when he was in Sinnoh. He just hadn't been sure if it was the same in Unova. Whole different continent and all that.

Trip smiled and shook his head. "You claim that you're gonna challenge the Pokémon League and become the best trainer in the world, and yet you don't even know _that_? Man, that's weak."

"Well hey, I'm just starting out too, you know."

"Even so, stuff like that should be basic knowledge for all trainers, new or not. Even trainers from the boonies should at least know _that._" He looked up at Dustin. "Do you even have a Pokémon, or are you lacking one of those too?"

"Huh? Yeah, of course I have a Pokémon! He's right here…" he gestured over his shoulder. Then he realized that Riolu was hiding again. "Come on buddy, don't be scared. Say hi!"

At Dustin's prompting, Riolu hesitantly emerged from behind his head, into the sight range of Trip. "R…rolu…" it greeted timidly.

Trip's eyes widened as he caught sight of the small blue form. "Who's that Pokémon?" he muttered, more to himself than to Dustin, as he pulled out his Pokédex and scanned it. The dual-screens slid open, lighting up with an image of the Pokémon on the top screen and statistics on the bottom.

"**Riolu, the Emanation Pokémon. It has the peculiar power of being able to see emotions such as joy and rage in the form of aura waves. Using their own auras, Riolu are able to communicate with others. Its body is lithe yet powerful; it can crest three mountains and cross two canyons in one night."**

_Impressive, _Trip thought to himself. Of course, he didn't vocalize that thought. Instead, he reached back into his coat pocket and swapped out his Pokédex for his digital camera. Raising it, he started walking around Dustin, taking pictures of him and Riolu from multiple different angles. He'd sort through them later and delete the ones he didn't like.

Dustin was unnerved by how Trip was just photographing him without permission. "Um…what are you doing?" he asked nervously.

Trip sighed as he pocketed his camera. "This is why we don't like people from the boonies…Listen up!" He stuck up one of his fingers in Dustin's face. "A Pokémon like Riolu in Unova is huge. They aren't native around here, so it's a really big deal."

Dustin chuckled. "What are you talking about? It isn't _that_ big of a deal. Riolu is my number one partner, not to mention my best friend!"

"Ri, riolu!"

Trip blinked. Best friend? _That _made him curious.

_Does he _not _have any human friends? Or does he just have a really powerful bond with that Pokémon?_

Just like that, an idea formed in Trip's mind. It made him excited just thinking about it, but he limited his physical movement to a sly smirk. "Is it strong?" he asked.

Dustin took a moment to think about that one. "Well, yeah, I'd say so. We've trained a bit, and he's pretty tough. He can beat me in arm wrestling, anyways…"

Riolu's chest swelled up with pride.

"…but to tell you the truth, we haven't actually been in a real battle yet, so I dunno…"

Now Trip was irreversibly interested. If Dustin wasn't going to suggest it, then he would. "Well then…" Trip reached down to his belt and pulled off Snivy's Poké Ball, raising it in front of him. "Whaddaya say we test it out? You, me, Pokémon battle, right now. You in?"

It took a moment for that offer to sink in. While it was still processing, Dustin was silent. Once it did finished processing, however, Dustin mouth fell open in awe. He'd…just been challenged. That was…unexpected…but still…

He grinned. "I dunno…" he said good-humoredly. "I guess it's up to Riolu. What do you think, little buddy?"

On Dustin's shoulder, Riolu beamed. His answer was simple enough.

'_Do you even have to ask?'_

"Right." Dustin looked back at Trip. "You got it! Let's go find a place to battle!"

* * *

They quickly decided on an open, moderately wooded area behind the lab. Or rather, Trip decided on it. Dustin probably wouldn't have known where to look. In any case, it almost looked like this area had been set aside for the specific purpose of Pokémon battles. It had the typical rectangular layout of the usual battlefield, with plenty of space for combating Pokémon to maneuver. Just surrounding the battlefield were the dense woods that surrounded Nuvema Town. Dustin hadn't noticed it when he had pulled up to the main entrance, but the lab was actually quite close to the tree line. The large grassy fields on either side of the lab and this area itself were the only things separating them. He was close enough to actually hear the faint sounds of wildlife hidden within the trees.

"Hey! Are you gonna stand there enjoying the scenery, or are you gonna battle?"

Dustin was brought out of his trance by Trip's agitated voice. Looking over, the former saw that the latter had already taken his place on one side of the field.

"Right, sorry!"

Hurriedly, Dustin ran over to take up his position on the opposite side.

_Arceus…this is really happening…man, this is sudden…aw, who am I kidding? This is awesome! I'm about to have my first Pokémon battle!_

* * *

Peering out from within a small bush on the side of the field…

The familiar sea otter-like Pokémon leaned forward to get a better view. The two humans were about to partake in a Pokémon battle, it could tell. They had both taken the positions on opposite sides of Miss Juniper's battlefield, which was a sure sign in and of itself. Now Oshawott just had to sit back and watch.

He wasn't quite sure why, but he liked the one with the messy brown hair. Maybe it was because that one had called him cute, while the other had rejected him in favor of that smug jerk, Snivy. Or maybe it was for a different, deeper reason. Oshawott didn't know exactly what it was, but he felt a slight tugging sensation in his chest, that made him feel oddly connected with the brown-haired one…

…whatever it was, he wanted to see the outcome of this battle, regardless.

* * *

From within the lab…

Juniper looked down at the two young men from the second-floor bedroom window. Call it women's intuition, or just professional experience, but she'd had a hunch that the two of them, Dustin and Trip, would end up battling each other. So she returned up the stairs, waved hi to Mincinno, who was making pretty good progress on the cleaning, pulled up a chair to her window, and waited. Sure enough, the both of them eventually came into sight, with Trip immediately taking position on the left-hand section of the field. They hadn't asked for her permission to use the lab's battlefield, but that was okay; she was very interested in how their match would turn out.

_They're both new Trainers…well, Dustin isn't quite a Trainer yet, but he may as well be. Neither of them has more experience than the other, but…Dustin has the advantage of a very strong connection with his Riolu. They've known each other for a long time, whereas Trip only just met Snivy. However, if I know Trip, he wouldn't have come to a battle unprepared, even if it's his first one. That boy has an incredible knack for devising strategies…_

…_I wonder who will win?_

* * *

Outside, not far away from the battlefield…

"Hmm…no, not here either." A slim, dark-skinned girl rose up from her kneeling position next to a bush and patted the dirt off of her clothes, which included a loose-fitting long-sleeved cream-and-pink shirt and a pair of white Capri pants. As she bent over to get at her legs, her large purple hair bounced slightly. The hair would have resembled a ponytail, were it not for the fact that it was extremely wide, cushiony, and long, extending down below her waist. How it was so remarkably well in-place was anyone's guess. "You find anything over there, Axew?"

A short ways away, a short, greenish-colored creature with large tusks protruding from the sides of its mouth poked its head out of a small shrub.

"Ax, ew eww." The creature shook its head sadly.

"Aww man," the girl pouted slightly. "I was sure that we would find some Sitrus berries around here. The travel guide said that they're located in this area, but we've been searching all day! Well, serves me right for listening to what some dumb pamphlet says. I swear, its like-"

"Hey! Are you gonna stand there enjoying the scenery, or are you gonna battle?"

The girl jumped slightly at hearing the voice. It sounded male, and quite agitated. She brought up a finger to her lips, making a 'shush' motion to her Pokémon (who really had no intention of making any loud noises anyways), and carefully moved toward the direction of the voice. She peeked around from a wide-trunked tree. In a small clearing about 30-or-so yards away were two boys, teenagers from the look of it. One had straight, dirty blonde hair, an orange jacket, and what looked like a permanent frown on his face. The other had a messy volume of brown hair topped with a visor, a blue jacket, and was grinning widely. As she watched the brown-haired boy spoke.

"Right, sorry!" he yelled out as he ran over to one side of the field, while the other boy was at the other side.

The girl released her built-up tension with a deep sigh. _They weren't talking to me…_

The boy with the orange jacket pulled out a red-and-white ball from his pocket…a Poké Ball. Silently, she motioned her Pokémon over to her. Once it was safely in her arms, she whispered to it, "Look Axew, it looks like they're about to have a Pokémon battle. Wanna watch?"

"Axew!" it agreed happily.

"Okay then," the girl complied, sitting cross-legged and getting comfortable for the show that was about to commence.

* * *

Trip reached into his pocket and pulled out his Poké Ball.

"You ready?" he asked coyly.

Dustin grinned. "You know it!"

"Alright then. Snivy, go get em' now!" And with that, Trip threw his Poké Ball.

* * *

_Author's Note: _CLIFFHANGER! I feel like I could have done better with this chapter. I read over it, and it's perfectly fine, but when I'm about to click upload, something just seems wrong. i dunno, is it just me? Leave reviews in the reviews. Anyway, next chapter is our first battle scene! Happy days!

Oh, and now a reader question.

*Ahem* Your own ultimate team of six Pokémon from across all generations. What would it be? And please, no Uber ranked Pokémon. I would love to have Darkrai on my team, but we all know that isn't realistic.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: _HI KIDS! Well, technically I'm a kid too, but...ah, whatever. MERRY BELATED CHRISTMAS/HANNUKAH/WHATEVER EVERYONE! How have your holidays been so far? Truth be told, I was planning to have this uploaded on the 24th as my present to all of you, but the new laptop I got for Christmas came with some issues, of course. I think I sorted them all out for now, but I a fully expecting to see more problems in the future. BUT THAT IS NEITHER HERE NOR THERE. What matters is now!

And right now, this chapter is up! So here is your Belated Christmas Gift, everyone! The first battle scene of this story! I really tried to go all out here, to make the first one a memorable one. So please, pretty please, let me know how I did!

AND NOW...*drumroll*...WITHOUT FURTHER ADO...*more drumroll*...LET THE CHAPTER COMMENCE!

* * *

Dustin vs. Trip: The First of Many!

Trip threw his Poké Ball into the arena, and Dustin watched for the fifth time that day as it popped open in midair and released a flood of light energy. When the light gathered on the ground and dispersed, Snivy was standing there, proud and tall (relatively speaking) and ready for action.

"Sniiiivvyyy..."

Dustin rolled his shoulder to bring Riolu closer to his face. "Okay buddy, you're up!"

"Rio!" Riolu leaped off of Dustin's shoulder, landing nimbly at his feet, and rushed out onto the battlefield. He took up his battle stance-legs spread apart and arms raised in front of him-ready to move at a moment's notice.

"Ro riolu!"

Dustin and Trip stood on opposite ends of the cleared-out field. Snivy stood calmly halfway between the midpoint of the field and Trip. Riolu shuffled excitedly halfway between the midpoint of the field and Dustin. Both Pokémon gazed unswervingly at one another, confidence and determination shining in their eyes. It was a new experience for both of them, true. But all the same, they knew what they were doing. The concept of battling, establishing dominance and making a statement of one's own power, was something that almost all Pokémon were familiar with, wild or not. It was a second nature to them, acquired over countless generations of struggling for survival on account of their ancestors, and their ancestors' ancestors. It may as well have been in their blood.

Dustin looked at Trip...who was taking photos with his camera again.

"Hey, um...I wasn't going to ask, but...uh..." Dustin scratched his head. "Why are you always taking pictures of stuff?"

Trip snapped another quick photo of Snivy and Riolu before responding. "I'm choreographing my journey," he replied simply. "I want to make a record of every important moment, and this is mine and Snivy's first battle."

"Ours too." Dustin smiled and put one foot behind him. "So, since you're clearly busy...first move is ours! Riolu, use Quick Attack!"

The battle had begun. In the span of a second, Riolu gathered energy within himself and launched into a high-speed dash, leaving multiple afterimages in his wake.

Trip made no movements to give Snivy a command, so Snivy remained where it was. Backed by the full speed of his movement and momentum, Riolu slammed into his opponent shoulder-first. The impact jarred Snivy, who slid backward a small ways and grunted in pain, but otherwise stayed on its feet.

"Nice one, Riolu!" Dustin called out. "Alright, go back in for another hit!"

Riolu, still using Quick Attack, dashed past Snivy to the end of the battlefield and circled around, closing fast. Snivy was still recovering from the previous hit when the attack struck. This time, Riolu aimed for Snivy's side, doing damage while knocking Snivy off-balance. Snivy grunted again, spun and fell over while Riolu ran past.

_Ha! This is awesome!_

"Great, keep it up!" Dustin cheered. "Now, hit it again!"

Riolu used the same trick as before, running to the other end of the field and circling around in order to maintain his speed, then heading straight back. Snivy, only having just been hit, was not prepared for another attack. Riolu charged in, full-speed, and nailed Snivy in the stomach as it was getting up from the ground. Snivy was sent flying backward, crying out in a mixture of pain and surprise, landing face-first in the dirt.

Trip wasn't doing anything. Snivy had taken three hits now, and he still wasn't giving any commands. He was just standing there, watching.

Dustin may have found it suspicious, but at the moment, he was too wrapped up in the battle. However, that is not to say that the spectators of this match did not notice it. One spectator in particular, the girl in the trees, along with the small Pokémon she held in her arms, was watching the battle with interest, and found this lack of action to be odd.

"That Snivy is getting pummeled out there...why isn't that guy doing anything?"

"Axew..."

Riolu slowed to a stop about a meter in front of Dustin. Snivy was struggling to get up on the other end of the battlefield. Dustin himself was ecstatic about how this match was going so far. Just a few more hits (or a critical hit, if he was lucky), and he would win his first Pokémon battle. Riolu was excited too; he could feel it in his mind. They just had to end it before Trip could retaliate.

"Great job buddy!" Dustin exclaimed. "We're gonna wrap this up fast! Now, get in close and use Bite!"

Riolu heard Dustin's command, and obeyed. He opened his mouth and bared his fangs, which began to glow white. A side effect of the move Bite; it had nothing to do with having clean teeth, though Dustin did make sure that Riolu always kept up good hygiene. With the move set up, Riolu took off once again toward Snivy, covering the distance between them in a matter of seconds. Riolu was built for speed, after all, even if he wasn't using Quick Attack. As he closed in on his target, Riolu opened his mouth wide, ready to chomp down once he was close enough...

Trip smirked.

"Snivy, dodge!"

Snivy snapped up to attention and flung itself to the left; not a moment too soon, as Riolu zoomed past.

"Now, Tackle!"

Snivy skidded to a halt from the dodge and, after a split-second standstill, launched itself headfirst straight into Riolu.

The attack connected with Riolu's abdomen; a critical hit. Before he knew what was happening, Riolu felt all the air in his lungs get forced out. He was sent flying back, rolling head-over-hind paws, and when he stopped, Riolu was clutching his chest in pain, gasping for breath.

Dustin was stunned by the turn of events. "R...R-Riolu!" he managed to stutter out.

_What...the heck just happened?_

"Come on, is that all you've got?"

Dustin looked up at Trip. The blonde had his hands in his pockets, smirking proudly. Snivy was standing up again, arms crossed and...looking perfectly fine...what?

Snivy was leering down at Riolu, who was still trying hard to inhale. Dustin shook his head.

_No way...it was all beat up not even a minute ago!_

In the trees, the girl and her Pokémon were in equal disbelief.

"How could it take three direct Quick Attacks and still be _fine?_"

Even Oshawott, hiding in a nearby bush, who was somewhat familiar with Snivy's abilities, was startled by the near-instantaneous turnaround. Indeed, the way in which Snivy was capable of fighting while always keeping up that cool exterior, scared it slightly.

The only spectator who wasn't the least bit surprised was Professor Juniper, up in the second-story window. In fact, she was more intrigued than anything else.

_Ah...letting Snivy take hits in order to study Riolu's style, while simultaneously pretending to take heavy damage in order to encourage more attacks. All the while waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike back...very clever, Trip. Very clever..._

"Snivy," Trip raised his right hand into the air and stuck it out, open-palmed, at Riolu, "use Vine Whip!"

If it was possible for Snivy to stand up any straighter, it did so at that moment. "Sniii..."

A bright green light started shining from in-between the curved yellow structures on Snivy's neck, followed by the telltale sliding noise. A moment later, two brown vines shot up and outward from within the folds of the "collar" at frightening speed, and began descending straight for Riolu.

Dustin had gotten hit by a Vine Whip once before. It didn't feel good. He sometimes thought he could still feel the lash marks across his back, where he'd been hit. He would hate it if his Pokémon had to experience the same thing.

"Riolu, get outta there!" he yelled. Riolu was still hurting, but at least he was breathing normally now. With effort, Riolu pushed himself off the ground and stumbled back, just as the first vine struck the spot where he had been with a loud _CRACK. _Dustin winced at the noise. The second vine adjusted its course and swung toward Riolu's new position. Ignoring the pain in his chest, Riolu bent his legs and leaped, propelling himself high into the air. The vine sailed harmlessly past underneath him, though it elicited a bit of a tailwind. Riolu was about to smile to himself when-

"Riolu, look out!"

The urgency in Dustin's voice was all the motivation Riolu needed. And he _did _look up, only too late; all he managed to see was a brief, intense brown blur. The first vine that Riolu had previously avoided had risen back into the air, and now smacked directly onto his face with enough force to send him hurtling back down to the earth. Riolu hit the ground hard, creating a small dust cloud where he landed.

"Riolu!" Dustin yelled again, now more concerned for his friend's well-being than he was about winning. The dust cleared to reveal Riolu lying on the ground in a heap, face-down, barely moving. Panic started to well up in Dustin's chest.

Snivy slowly retracted the vines back into...wherever it was they were kept. Trip smiled again. "You wanna call it quits?" he called across the field tauntingly.

Dustin was actually seriously considering it at the moment. _I don't want Riolu to keep getting hurt just to end up losing...gah, but I can't think like that! I can't become the best if I just give up whenever it gets tough! But then, am I just being selfish..?_

"Riolu..." Dustin hesitated, but continued. "Riolu, do you think you can keep going?" He felt guilty asking, but he didn't want to make a decision like this without his partner's feedback.

On the ground, Riolu cracked one eye open and lifted his head slightly to look at Dustin. Dustin looked down at his friend, and it occurred to him just how quickly the tables had turned. One minute, right at the beginning of the battle, he and Riolu were nailing Snivy and Trip repeatedly; the next, Riolu was all but crippled in the dirt while Snivy looked on.

_So this is what she meant..._

Riolu saw Dustin standing there, and he saw the waves of doubt rolling off of his trainer. It hardened his resolve. So, with a great deal of effort, Riolu grit his teeth and dragged himself upright; first to his elbows, then to his knees, then finally to his feet.

Dustin watched as Riolu stood up. He looked a bit unsteady, and his right eye was almost swollen shut (right where the vine had hit him: ouch). To think, just a Tackle and a Vine Whip had done that. Snivy was definitely tough, no doubt about that. But still, Riolu looked determined. And so Dustin responded to that determination.

"...Right." He smiled. "Let's win this. Riolu, use Quick Attack!"

Just like before, Riolu gathered up energy and took off at a dash toward Snivy, heedless of his injuries. Despite being hurt, Riolu's speed was hardly affected at all. The difference was that, this time, Trip was expecting it.

"Snivy, dodge it!" he commanded calmly.

Where once Riolu had been able to easily hit Snivy with Quick Attack, Snivy now effortlessly avoided the hit, jumping to the side and allowing Riolu to run past. Dustin had a sneaking suspicion that this had nothing to do with Riolu being in a weakened state.

"Try it again!" he yelled. Rather than circle around, this time Riolu jumped and turned in midair, skidding to a halt upon landing. Then he launched himself back at Snivy...who dodged again by leaping over Riolu, doing a spin-flip in the air, and landing nimbly behind him.

"Darn it...again, Riolu"

The pattern repeated four more times, with Riolu going back around for another attack, only for Snivy to dodge it with an unnecessary amount of splendor.

_It's just toying with us! _Dustin suddenly realized. Growing frustrated, he shouted, "Keep trying Riolu! Don't give up! Go again!"

"Rio!"

Trip sighed. "This is getting tedious...Snivy?"

"Sniii..."

"Knock it back with Vine Whip."

While Riolu charged in for another Quick Attack, Snivy released its vines from its collar, emerging like tendrils, and aimed them toward Riolu. The two attacks closed in on each other rapidly. The first vine came at a sweeping angle. Riolu, even in the midst of a Quick Attack, managed to jump it. However, the forward momentum, combined with the lack of maneuverability in midair, meant that he was unable to avoid the second vine when it flew at him. Riolu was smacked across the side and sent flying across the field, tumbling over himself until one of his paws touched the ground. Acting on impulse, Riolu grabbed the dirt (more-or-less) and used the ground as an anchor until he slowed to a stop.

Snivy had already withdrawn its vines and was now sending them for the downed Riolu. Dustin had to think fast.

_Those vines are too fast for Riolu to dodge. How are we supposed to get past them and at Snivy?_

Suddenly, something occurred to Dustin. He took a closer look at the vines...whistling through the air...extending from inside of Snivy's collar...

_Unless...wait a minute...those vines ARE Snivy!_

Dustin grinned as an idea quickly formed in his head. It was a stupid idea, but in his experience, those were the ones that tended to work best. Dustin glanced at Riolu, and Riolu glanced at Dustin. Their eyes locked. Right then, in that brief moment, through the power of their aura link, their thoughts were communicated. Both knew what the plan was. Given, Riolu was particularly less enthusiastic about it, but hey, what're you gonna do?

* * *

The air itself shrieked as the vines quickly and intensely bore down on their target. Riolu was ready. So was Dustin.

"Riolu, use Bite!"

Riolu's opened his mouth, his fangs once again glowing white. He knew that what he was about to do was going to hurt; he just hoped that it hurt his opponent more than it hurt him. The problem with trying to dodge Vine Whip was that, even if you managed to avoid the first vine, the second one would almost always get you-if you somehow avoided the second vine, the first one again. Therefore, the key to avoiding Vine Whip was not to try and dodge it at all.

It was to take the enemy's power and throw it right back at 'em.

As the first vine came within inches of Riolu's unmoving form, he did the unthinkable: Riolu stuck out his paws and grabbed it. The impact still stung horribly (Riolu could already feel his paws swelling up), but not nearly as much as it would have. Thus, Riolu held onto the vine tightly, even while the second one came flying at his face.

"Now!"

Riolu waited until the second vine was a mere inch away from his nose-incredible timing on his part-and at the exact correct moment, he bit down onto it. His teeth pierced the surface of the vine and sunk inside of it.. Riolu almost gagged as chlorophyll flowed into his mouth (it tasted terrible, naturally), but still bit down even harder, making sure that the vine wasn't going anywhere. On the other side of the field, much to both Dustin's and Riolu's delight, Snivy was visibly cringing in pain. Apparently, a Bite to those vines hurt just as much it would have on its arms or sides.

Dustin cheered inwardly. _I was right!_

Riolu decided to take the initiative. Before Snivy could do anything to counter, he mustered all of the strength in his upper body and pulled, forward and upward. Snivy, now caught completely by surprise on _receiving _end of the vines, was yanked off of the ground and into the air. Riolu turned and swung Snivy up, over his head, and back down, intending to slam Snivy into the ground hard enough to knock it out.

_Intending _being the key word of that sentence.

Just as Snivy was about to hit the ground, it somehow flipped in the air and landed on its feet. Then, utilizing the same momentum that Riolu had just attempted to use, Snivy swung its vines over its head, pulling Riolu off of the ground with them. Unfortunately, Riolu was in no condition to perform the kind of save that Snivy had just pulled off. Thus, Riolu's plan backfired. Instead of slamming Snivy into the ground, Snivy slammed Riolu with even more force than Riolu had possessed, and Riolu hit the ground with a massive cloud of dust.

It all happened in a total of seven seconds. In that time, Dustin's mood had gone from hopeful, to elated, to devastated.

_No...way..._

The calm demeanor that once graced Snivy features was now gone, replaced by a mixture of pain, anger, and smug pleasure. It retracted the vines from the wall of dust that hid Riolu. One of the vines was torn up near the tip and dripping a greenish-yellow liquid when it disappeared within the folds of Snivy's collar.

After a few tense moments of silence, Trip spoke up. "Not bad...but not good enough."

The dust settled once more, and Dustin was shocked to see Riolu already standing up, albeit leaning heavily to one side and clutching his opposite elbow. He was still ready to fight.

"Damn it...Riolu, you okay?"

"...ri...rio!"

"Right then. Riolu, use Qui-"

"Lemme guess, Quick Attack?" Trip interrupted. He raised his arms in a hopeless shrug. "Isn't Riolu is a Fighting-type? Doesn't it know any Fighting-type attacks?"

The question caught Dustin off-guard. Trip continued.

"Quick Attack is a Normal-type move, and Bite is a Dark-type move," he said. "Both are decent attacks, but if Riolu is a Fighting-type, why aren't you using any Fighting-type moves against Snivy?"

Dustin was confused. Why did Trip care about something like that? Then, abruptly, Trip started chuckling.

"Wait, don't tell me...Riolu doesn't know any Fighting-type moves, does it? That figures, I guess," he chuckled again. "People from the boonies like you don't know how to train Pokémon worth a dime."

...okay, that was it. Dustin had had just about enough with the 'boonies' comments. He was NOT from the BOONIES. And besides...

"...Riolu does too know a Fighting-type attack..." he muttered, clenching his fists angrily.

"Then why aren't you using it?" Trip retorted. When Dustin didn't respond, he shook his head and sighed. "Just as I thought. Trying to preserve some shred of dignity by ironically telling a lie. You people are all the same, always-"

"RIOLU."

Dustin shouted it so that Trip would stop talking. Riolu looked back and saw waves of red and orange coming off of Dustin. That meant a mixture of anger and determination. Was he going to...

"...use Aura Sphere."

Yup, he was.

Without another thought, Riolu spun around to face Snivy. He brought his paws together his front of his face and concentrated, as hard as he could given the pain he was in. His power was that of manipulation over his own aura energy. So, he focused on channeling that all of energy into one point before him. As he did so, a blue light emerged from nothing in-between Riolu's paws. Small, at first, but the light quickly grew in size and shape to become a large, gleaming, solid sphere of pure aura.

Trip's eyes widened at the sight. "What..?"

In the trees, the girl and her Pokémon were watching in awe. "Is that..?"

Up in the lab window, Professor Juniper was, for the first time in a while, completely shocked. "How does Riolu know..?"

"Now, go!" Dustin shouted. Riolu jumped into the air and, with a delightful battle cry, threw the shining orb of energy at a dumbstruck Snivy. The attack bore down with extraordinary speed, about to hit...

...and promptly turned off to the side, going right past Snivy, flying _waayyy _off-course and spinning aimlessly in the air before finally impacting against an unfortunate tree some distance away with a glorious explosion of light, sound, and smoke.

Yeah, it missed. By a lot.

Everyone was silent for a long, _very long _moment. Then Dustin laughed nervously. "Heheh...I guess that move still needs some work, huh?"

Riolu facepalmed.

Trip was extremely silent before he spoke. "Uhh...is this some sort of strategy?" he asked, looking at the small crater near the foot of the tree caused by the explosion. "Deliberately making your moves miss in order to psych me out or something? Because _no _Pokémon's accuracy could possibly be _that _horrible."

Dustin didn't say anything, utterly embarrassed.

"...okay, whatever. I think I'll just settle this now. Snivy!"

Snivy snapped to attention at Trip's command.

"Finish it off with Leaf Tornado!"

Dustin was brought out of his uncomfortable silence when he heard the unfamiliar move name.

"Leaf Tornado?"

Trip smirked. "Welcome to Unova. Things are different around here."

Snivy leaped into the air and pointed itself face-down toward the earth before spinning at an incredible speed. The leaf on its tail started to glow, while the wind around Snivy picked up speed, turning into a visible cyclone. The leaf on Snivy's tail started releasing countless smaller leaves, with were immediately caught up by the wind, and started circling in the air fast enough to turn the cyclone itself a dark shade of green. Then, with one final cry, Snivy somersaulted in the air, taking the "tornado" with it by the tail, and bringing it down onto Riolu. Riolu was only able to maintain his footing for a moment when the wind's power became too much, and he was pulled off of the ground. In the air, the quickly spinning leaves sliced and tore at his skin, along with the overall disorienting experience of flying in circles without any form of control. Just as quickly as it started, the winds tossed Riolu back down to the earth, so strongly that the poor Pokémon actually scarred the ground on impact, leaving a long trail of pushed-aside rocks and dirt.

The winds and leaves cleared to show Riolu's small blue form at the end of the scar, completely unmoving. He was unconscious.

The battle was over. The winner was Trip.

* * *

_Author's Note: _AAAANNNNNDDDD THAT'S A WRAP!

*confetti cannons and popping champagne bottles*

WE DIDN'T DIE ON THE 21st! I AM STILL SSSOOOOOOOOO HAPPY ABOUT THAT!

Still, I am kinda depressed that we didn't make a bigger deal about the planets aligning for the first time in millions of years. It all kinda just came and went, and no one even took any pictures! What the hell!?

Anyways...READER QUESION TIME. I meant to ask this question earlier, but Coli Chibi beat me to the punch. So, instead of just asking the same question, I am gonna expand on it.

*ahem* *pulls out notecards* If you could be a Gym Leader (it doesn't matter where), which of the 17 types would you specialize in, AND what would the puzzle-theme for your gym be? For example, in B2W2, Burgh's gym involves navigating through weird silk suction-cocoon things as part of his Bug-specialization.

Leave your answers in your reviews! Speaking of which, please review!


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: _HAPPY NEW YEARS, EVERYONE! My family is currently very drunk, so I managed to sneak away for a few minutes to upload this as a New Year's present to all of you! HOORAY! As some of you already know, I've already achieved one of my New Year's Resolutions. Not get drunk on the first hour of 2013. I AM A SUCCESSFUL PERSON YAAAYYYY!

Though I am a bit hyper right now. All of the screaming of joy outside my room that we didn't die in 2012 must be rubbing off on me. I dunno.

Anyway, not much happens in this chappy. It's one of those settle-down-after-immense-excitement chapters, if you know what I mean. There should be plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in here though. If there aren't, then my sense of humor is officially starting to suck.

Well, that enough out of me. ENJOY THIS CHAPTER, MY FAITHFUL PAWNS!

* * *

After You've Lost...

"Riolu!"

He didn't waste any time. Dustin sprinted over to his downed partner as fast as he could, almost tripping over himself on the way. Once he got there, Dustin knelt down by the edge of the scarred ground, where Riolu was. Carefully, so as not to accidentally inflict any further harm on the Pokémon, Dustin picked up Riolu from where he lay in the dirt and held him.

Riolu's eyes opened, very slowly. His whole tiny form was riddled with cuts and bruises from where Snivy's attacks had hit him. His breathing was short and rapid, hardly noticeable except for the small rising and falling of his chest. His eyes were unfocused and tired, like he'd just gotten out of bed instead of smacked around on a battlefield.

The sight of it, of seeing his friend in such a pitiable state, made Dustin's heart skip a beat. Tears almost came up, even. Almost; Dustin forced himself to look away before he got too emotional.

_Damn it, get a grip dude...this happens all the time, right? In Pokémon battles? Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose...and sometimes, Pokémon get hurt. Right? Nothing to be upset about..._

"Ri...rio..."

Riolu watched with half-consciousness as Dustin grit his teeth. Whether from anger at himself, internal pain at seeing Riolu like this, or from actual excitement that he'd just had his first Pokémon battle, Riolu couldn't tell. There were too many different waves coming off of Dustin, and Riolu was too tired to process the information. It could have been all three of those things, or something else entirely.

On the other side of the field, Trip grinned proudly. "Our first win..." he muttered to himself. Then he looked down at his Pokémon. "I thought we synced pretty well for our first battle," he told Snivy, who turned its attention back from Riolu to Trip. "I'm glad I chose you."

With that, Trip pulled out Snivy's Poké Ball and recalled it without another word.

Dustin slowly stood up, with Riolu now in his arms. Trip looked back at them, a pompous smile on his lips. "I think you two had better start over with the basics!" he yelled over to them.

Dustin didn't bother responding. He just turned on his heels and ran back toward the lab, sheltering Riolu from further harm. Right then, to Dustin, everything and everyone in the area may as well have been nonexistent. His only concern at the moment was helping his friend. He just hoped that the professor had some medicine in stock. Or something.

Trip watched as Dustin disappeared around the corner of the building. Chuckling to himself, he shrugged and departed once again down the road toward Route 1.

* * *

"Wow...so I guess it's over then. That was pretty exciting, huh Axew?"

"Ax axew!"

In the tree line, the dark-skinned girl jumped up and stretched. She hadn't been sitting long, but her limbs were used to being active. As such, they were already stiff and creaky. At her feet, her green reptilian Pokémon did likewise.

"Still...I wonder how that other Pokémon is doing..." the girl hummed in thought as she bent forward. She was thinking specifically about the small blue creature belonging to the brown-haired Trainer who had lost. The Pokémon hadn't been one that she recognized from around Unova, but it had clearly been beaten up pretty badly. She just hoped that the injuries didn't end up being too severe; sure, it wasn't _her _Pokémon, but she still cared.

Then the girl spoke to her little companion. "I hope you learned something from watching that match, Axew. It won't be long before you get to start battling too! When that happens, we're gonna have to start training really hard, okay?"

"Ax!"

In a quick movement, the Pokémon leaped up and buried itself in the girl's large plume of hair. She giggled slightly at the action.

"Right then. What do you say we start looking for those Sitrus berries again?"

"Axew!"

* * *

"Professor...is he gonna be okay?"

They were in the clinic area of Professor Juniper's lab. Riolu was lying face-up on a small Pokémon-sized bed, with his paws, chest, and the forehead wrapped in bandages. The Professor stood over him, and Dustin stood behind her. Dustin wrung his hands anxiously as Juniper spoon-fed Riolu some kind of thick green medicine from a bowl. From the way Riolu cringed as he swallowed, Dustin assumed it didn't taste all that great. Again, he felt a pang of guilt at having allowed Riolu to get this way in the first place. He should have backed out the moment things really started to go south, he thought, instead of just letting Riolu...

_Ah, but Riolu definitely wouldn't have like that, _he kept reminding himself.

It was a few moments before Juniper turned around to respond. When she did, she had a surprising smile on her face. "Don't worry, he'll be fine," she assured him, and she allowed Riolu to sit up on the table once she was done feeding him. "Riolu just took of a beating out there, that's all. I know it looks bad, and I may not be a Nurse Joy, but trust me. All he needs is a bit of R&R, and he'll be fine by tomorrow morning."

Dustin sighed in relief, releasing a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Thanks..." he mumbled. Truthfully, Dustin had originally been worried about whether the Professor would be able to do anything at all. From what he'd seen so far, this town didn't have a Pokémon Center, and he didn't want to risk running out to check while Riolu was still injured. Strangely, upon entering the lab, Juniper had already been waiting for him. She promptly ushered him into the small medical area. During that time, Juniper explained to Dustin that she had been watching the whole match, and had seen him come running inside. Dustin was a bit curious as to why Juniper had watched him battle (not to mention a bit antsy, since he remembered that he hadn't even asked permission to use the battlefield), but was grateful nevertheless.

"It's no problem!" Juniper smiled again. "I actually deal with this all the time, you know. When one of your jobs is giving starter Pokémon to new Trainers, you kinda have to get used to having battles happen right outside your door. And when _that _happens, it's good to know a thing or two about medicine, since they're likely to come right back in for healing once the battle is over."

"Heh...yeah, that makes sense."

"There _is _one thing I'm curious about, though," Juniper added. She crossed her arms and looked at him quizzically. "What I want to know is how on earth you got Riolu to learn to use Aura Sphere."

Dustin blinked. "Um...why?"

"Well, to be frank, it isn't a move that Riolu are supposed to be able to learn at all, at least not until after they evolve. I'm wondering why _this _Riolu is somehow able to use it. Did you do something to make?"

Riolu's ears perked up at hearing his name mentioned so many times.

"...um...uh..." Dustin scratched his head in thought. "...no, I don't think so. I didn't know it was all that special, to be honest. I didn't even teach it to him. I think he's known how to do it ever since he hatched. I'm not sure exactly, but he does spend pretty much all of his time with me, and the first time I ever saw him do it was only a few weeks after hatching." Dustin looked past Juniper at his partner. "Though, I guess it would kinda explain why Riolu can't really use it..."

"What do you mean?" Juniper inquired.

Dustin looked back at Juniper. "See, Riolu has this problem with Aura Sphere," he started to explain. "I know it's a strong move. _Really _strong. Riolu used it and accidentally blew a hole into the side of our house once." He crossed his arms. "At least I hope it was an accident. I've never been too clear on that little detail..."

Riolu blushed.

"...but anyway, the problem is that Riolu can never seem to control it. I mean, you saw it, right? Riolu always starts off the move fine. There's never any problem with that. But when it comes to actually launching it...I guess Riolu just has trouble directing the energy or something. Once he lets go of it, the...ball, I guess you could call it? It more-or-less goes off and does its own thing in the air until it hits something. That something is usually _really _far away from what we wanted to hit. I've trained with Riolu a lot, but we haven't made much progress..."

"Hmm..." Juniper put a hand on her hip and gazed at Riolu, who was sitting upright and looking at them. "A Riolu that was born knowing Aura Sphere...fascinating..."

She must've noticed Dustin staring at her, because she suddenly became all flustered. "Oh, I'm sorry! I just got a little sidetracked. A scientific mind never rests, they say!" She laughed lightly while Dustin sweat dropped. "Still," she continued, "the fact that your Riolu knows Aura Sphere is very interesting. I think I'll have to do a bit of research on that subject. Also, if you don't mind, I'd like to run a few tests on Riolu."

"Uh...wait, what?"

"R-ri!?"

"Oh, nothing harmful, I assure you! I just want to see if there is anything different about Riolu specifically, genetic or otherwise. And he'll have to stay here for a while longer in order to recover anyways, so why not make the most of it? It could be a learning experience for both of us! What do you say?"

Dustin had no idea how to respond to the concept of a Pokémon professor asking him for permission to run "tests" on his Riolu. It all honestly sounded like something out of a creepy sci-fi film. But Professor Juniper didn't seem like the sort of person to perform weird unethical experiments on his Pokémon behind his back or anything.

Dustin looked past Juniper. "What do you think, Riolu? You okay with it?" he asked his partner. Riolu was still a bit shaken up by the idea. For some reason, the image of a gigantic needle and scalpel kept popping up in his head. But he didn't want to seem like a wuss in front of his trainer or the professor, so he hesitantly nodded his approval.

Juniper clapped her hands together. "Fantastic!" she exclaimed happily. "We can get started right away! I'll go gather some equipment. You two wait here!" With that, Juniper barreled out of the room.

At the mention of the word 'equipment', Riolu started shaking. Dustin started laughing, half because of Juniper's excitement to study Riolu, half because of Riolu's fear of medical devices. In response to this, Riolu jumped off of the table and kicked Dustin in the shin.

That got Dustin to shut up pretty quickly.

* * *

_**About three hours (involving DNA samples, computer simulations, and a spazzing Riolu) later...**_

"Hmm..."

Watching the large computer monitor intently, Juniper tapped her chin with the pen she'd been chewing on. Dustin stood beside her, also watching the monitor, which was displaying a 3D image of Riolu from multiple different angles, as well as an X-ray image of Riolu's skeleton and a few projections of DNA strands. Dustin was doing his best to absorb the information, but unlike the professor, he was having trouble seeing what it all meant.

Riolu himself was sitting glumly inside of a glass cylinder. He was currently hooked up to another one of Juniper's scanning devices, but this one was apparently made specifically for the purpose of checking up on Pokémon, as opposed to the rest of the big lab machines in the complex. As of the moment, Riolu had numerous electrodes stuck at various points along his body-two on his chest, one two on his cheeks, one on his forehead, two on each arm and each leg, one on each on his palms, and one on the sole of each hind paw. In addition to that, a bright green scanner light was running up and down the case, taking precise measurements of Riolu's form, among other things.

Juniper hummed in thought again. "As far as I can tell," she began, "there's nothing remarkably unique about this Riolu. His genetic structure looks normal in comparison to that of others of his kind, with the only differences being the slight ones that are to be expected from different individuals. I'm not seeing any alterations in his physical composition either, or in any unusual levels of brain activity..." she looked down at Dustin. "Are you sure you don't know about any events that may have led to Riolu knowing Aura Sphere? Anything at all out of the ordinary?"

"Erm...I don't think so..." Dustin tapped his foot slightly as he tried to think. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. "Wait, what if he were to spend a lot of time around another Pokémon that also knew the move? Like a Lucario?"

"A Lucario?" Juniper repeated. Dustin nodded, and Juniper started thinking about it. "Well...I suppose something like that mightcause a _desire_ to learn the move, but being around other Pokémon in itself isn't enough to actually teach a move, I don't think."

"Ah...see, my old babysitter back in Sinnoh has a Lucario, and she would come by sometimes to hang out while I was still living there. That Lucario knew Aura Sphere, and Riolu always kinda looked up to him...both literally and figuratively...so I just thought..." Dustin trailed off, sticking his hands in his pockets.

"Oh, don't worry! This is what science is all about!" Juniper looked at the screen again, her eyes appearing elated/determined. "Solving the mysteries of the world, one puzzle-piece at a time. Every new answer opens up dozens more questions, but knowing that your work is endless just makes it all the more fun!"

It was then that she looked out the window and saw the sun was starting to set. "It's getting late..." she said. "Why don't you and Riolu stay here for the night?"

Dustin was taken aback by the sudden offer. "Oh, uh...that's fine. We don't want to intrude..."

"Oh, it's no trouble! I insist!" Juniper smiled again. "It'll give Riolu more time to recover from his injuries, and you'll be better off setting out in the morning rather than late at night. Besides, you don't want to stay in motel, do you? That place is way too expensive, and I don't mind saying it, the apartments there are dingy at best."

Dustin was having trouble finding reason to argue. Juniper made some good points. Riolu still had to finish healing before he risked getting into trouble out in the wilderness. Especially at night, when it was not only darker, but also when all manner of frightening beasts became active. That aside, Dustin wasn't sure if he had enough cash to stay in a motel. He had planned on mostly using the prize money he would eventually start to win, or otherwise resorting to his own physical paper money in case of an emergency. Juniper was offering a free stay at her own house, even if it was extremely cluttered and hard to move around in (Dustin wondered how Minccino was doing up there). Hopefully, Dustin thought, she was also offering a warm meal, since neither he or Riolu had eaten since that morning. Airport food was hardly anything to gawk about.

Almost as if on cue, Dustin's stomach rumbled.

_Oh, great. Now it would be awkward as Hell if I tried to refuse..._

"Um...I guess that would be okay. Thanks!"

And indeed, Dustin was truly feeling grateful, now that he'd gotten over himself and accepted Juniper's offer. Riolu hadn't gotten a say in it, but he didn't mind; he actually would have been pretty darn upset with Dustin had his trainer refused.

"Wonderful!" Juniper clapped her hands together again, much like she had done earlier. "For now, the two of you should head upstairs and try to get comfortable. Hopefully Minccino is done cleaning by now. I'll be up there once I'm done going over the last few bits of data here."

"Okay then. Thanks again!"

"It's no trouble. Please, make yourselves at home!"

* * *

As it turned out, Minccino had done a pretty damn amazing job cleaning up the place. Dustin had gone up the stairs with Riolu expecting to witness a sea of crinkly white-what he saw instead were smooth, aqua-colored walls, a brown carpet floor, and completely clean furniture and appliances. All of the papers that had once been scattered across every face of every object were now stacked and organized by subject in boxes in the corner of the living room. It even looked like the little grey Pokémon had gone above and beyond simply cleaning up the papers and had actually dusted the place. The ENTIRE place. The ceiling, the furniture, the doors, even the narrow spaces behind the chairs a sofa, had all been completely cleared of dirt-residue. Dustin had to wonder where it had all gone.

"Mincciiiin!" Juniper's Minccino greeted them as they came up the stairs. Aforementioned shock at seeing how cleaning the house was aside, Dustin returned the greeting. Minccino showed some level of concern over the fact that Riolu was covered in bandages, but judging from their interaction, Riolu must've assured Minccino that he was fine.

Juniper showed up like she said she would, about ten minutes after Dustin and Riolu had arrived. She seemed just as impressed as Dustin was with how good of a job Minccino had done, but didn't seem nearly as surprised by it. Dustin assumed that this was because she was used to it, or something along those lines.

Juniper showed them where they would be allowed to sleep for the night. She actually had multiple guest rooms set aside for the purpose of visitors.

_I guess she really _does _have to deal with lots of Trainers..._ Dustin thought when he saw all of them. Juniper selected one for them; a humble spot that had a bed, a window, and a normal-size computer in the corner. Once Dustin had set his things down on the bed, Juniper then left to go get a meal started.

During the waiting period, Dustin set about making sure that he had all of his things ready. He didn't want to get onto the road tomorrow and find out that he was missing something that he really needed. Thankfully, everything he had originally packed before getting onto the plane was still there, meaning that no one had robbed him when he wasn't looking (he wasn't really expecting to find anything missing, but you never know).

Juniper came back in surprisingly quickly, only about 15 minutes later, to announce that dinner was ready. As Dustin soon found out, Juniper hadn't actually gone and made anything big or fancy for them. She'd just heated up some frozen dinners. Dustin wasn't complaining, of course. Frozen meals and leftovers were mostly what he ate back at home anyways, and it was still good food, pre-made or not. Not to mention it was free. So he enjoyed it without any comment, aside from thanking Juniper once again. On the table as well were Riolu and Minccino, digging into their respective bowls of Pokémon food. Riolu's bowl included the same Fighting-brand food that Juniper had given him before, mixed with a few cooked vegetables, all of which Riolu was devouring. Minccino's food was a bit more modest, but not much; it was the usual brand of Pokémon food that Dustin was familiar with, but mixed in were at least a half-dozen chopped up Pecha berries, as reward for the Pokémon's excellent cleaning job.

Dinner came and went uneventfully. Already feeling tired from the eventful day (a feeling shared immensely by Riolu, who was now both stuffed _and _exhausted), Dustin and Riolu retired to their room after saying brief goodnights the professor and Minccino, Dustin thanking the professor for the kindness of allowing him to stay yet _again._

Hey, he was raised to be polite whenever possible. Not that he always did it, but most of the time he was.

...okay, _some _of the time.

And thus, after closing the door to the guest room, Dustin unceremoniously changed out of his normal traveling clothes and into his Power-Ranger themed pajamas (DON'T JUDGE!). Afterward, he climbed into bed, Riolu getting in after him. Outside, the sun had set, and the crescent moon was making its way higher into the sky. Dustin had no idea what time it was exactly, but he didn't exactly care either. He was tired, and he was going to sleep.

"Goodnight Riolu..." he muttered sleepily as he drifted off.

Riolu snuggled up slightly on Dustin's chest.

_'Nighty-night...' _the Pokémon responded.

* * *

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: _You know, I'm just staring to realize that these aren't really author's notes so much as they are me rambling at the beginning and end of each chapter. Oh well. I enjoy doing this.

Again, Happy New Year, and as a special event, you all get not one, but TWO READER QUESTIONS. I think I'll be doing this whenever holiday events come up. Next time you all get two at the same time should be at around Valentine's Day. Anyways...ahem...

QUESTION 1: What are **_YOUR_ **New Year's resolutions?

QUESTION 2: If you were to be champion of a Pokémon League (or just any really tough eventful trainer, really. Like a Frontier Brain or a traveling badass like Colress), which musical theme, from Pokémon, would you use as your battle-theme? I personally think I'd go with the Pokémon World Tournament (PWT) Finals theme from B2W2. It's just so...ME.

Anyway, happy times, everyone! Remember, leave reviews! It makes me feel all fuzzy inside, and inspires me to keep on writing!


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's Note_: Hi everybody! Back again, this time with chapter seven. Let us all be happy for a few moments that the universe recognized our potential and decided to spare us total obliteration!

That's the reasoning that scientists have come up with for why we all didn't die on the 21st, if you watch Discovery Channel. Dumb hicks. The Mayans ran out of rocks for their calendar. End of story.

Anyway, I'm just too excited! I'm happy today, for multiple reasons. The first reason, which is less related to this story and more to myself, is that I've found a website that allows me to watch every single episode of the Best Wishes series of Pokémon, in English, with extremely fast streaming and great quality, for FREE. And I don't even have to sign up to anything! It's like YouTube, but without all of the copyright nonsense! If you're interested, like I am, the website is:

www. anime here .com

Without the spaces, of course. I had to put those in because Fanfiction doesn't let me type in the names of websites for whatever reason.

Second and more importantly, today is the big day! It took a little while, but I've finally got this story off the ground and rolling! That's right, this is the chapter where it all really gets underway! If you wanna know more, read the chapter. But because of this development, I will now sing this entry song...ahem...

_*guitar strings in the background*_

_"It's always hard, when your journey begins,"_

_"Hard to find your way, hard to make new friends..."_

_"But there's nothing you can't do,"_

_**"'Cause you've got the power inside of you!"**_

_"It's not always Blaaack aaand White,_

_But your heart always knooows whaaat's right._

_It's not about win or lose,_

_It's the path you choose,_

_Let the journey begiiiiiin!_

_**Pokémon!**__"_

* * *

...You KEEP MOVING FORWARD!

_**The next morning...**_

Gently, a single small beam of sunlight streamed in through the narrow gap in-between the window's curtains. Over the next few minutes, the beam became progressively wider and larger as the sun continued its ascent over the horizon. The angle at which the light hit the window also changed slightly, more and more, until after a grand total of 23 minutes after it first appeared, the light shone down onto the face of the boy lying in the guest bed.

The perpetual darkness of slumber was disturbed as sunlight attempted to shine through his closed eyelids, turning his vision within the eyelids from black to intense red. Groaning as consciousness began to retake hold on his body, the boy cracked his eyes open, allowing himself to take in the light bit by bit rather than blind himself.

His mind was slow to work. Right now, he was stuck in that fuzzy half-asleep-half-awake realm, where dream-like images came out and fogged up his perspective on reality. It took about a minute, but the basic information came to him: his name was Dustin, and it was morning.

Dustin yawned sleepily. He was about to get up, as was ritual for him whenever he woke up, but stopped himself when he felt an unusual weight on his chest. Curious, in that semi-conscious kind of way, he pulled his arm out from under the comforter and pulled the thick blanket upward so he could see underneath. What he saw made him smile. Lying there on his chest was Riolu, still sound asleep and completely shielded from the sunlight, what with being under the covers and all. He was bent up in a fetal-position and, adorably, sucking on his thumb (or the part of his paw that closest resembled a thumb).

Dustin smiled and started petting Riolu's sleeping form, being careful not to wake the little guy up. Riolu responded by snuggling further up Dustin's chest.

The whole thing was very light-hearted. Riolu tended to get like this whenever he was feeling uneasy, cuddling up to Dustin while they slept for comfort. In fact, though the little guy hated to admit it, and constantly tried to hide it behind a brave outer-display, he was actually very timid. Most of the time it was okay; all Riolu usually needed was a bit of prompting on Dustin's part. There were times, however, when Riolu's shyness proved to be a bit of a nuisance. Still, it had its moments. Such as now, with Riolu all curled up on Dustin's chest. In made the soon-to-be-full-fledged trainer feel all fuzzy inside.

_Trainer._

Suddenly, Dustin remembered where he was, and what he was doing there. He remembered all of the events that had transpired the day before. Most importantly, he remembered what was due to happen to him today.

All exhaustion carefulness instantly disappeared. In his excitement, Dustin jumped out of bed, unintentionally taking the unawares Riolu with him. The sudden movement made Riolu's eyes open just in time to see the floor rising up to meet his face. With agility inherent to the species, and despite only just having been forced awake, Riolu instinctively stuck out his forepaws and, when they touched wood, propelled himself back upward, where he was able to right himself in midair and land on his feet this time.

Now that he was out of immediate danger, Riolu's exhaustion came back. It was definitely an odd sensation, being tired down to the bone while simultaneously feeling the effects of an adrenaline rush. While Riolu breathed heavily, he was vaguely aware of Dustin on the other side of the room, completely oblivious to the situation as he changed out of his jammies and back into his traveling clothes.

_Wha...what's going on? _Riolu thought groggily, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Due to their link, Dusting heard the thought. He looked back at Riolu and smacked himself.

"Aww, crud...sorry buddy!" he apologized. "I'm just really...gah, stupid zipper...I'm really excited! Today's the day we set out on our journey!"

And at that statement, Riolu's exhaustion _also _promptly vanished. Without another word, Riolu ran over and hopped up onto Dustin's shoulder. When he did so, Dustin caught sight of the bandages wrapped around parts of Riolu.

"Hold on a second, buddy," he said, grabbing Riolu off of his shoulder and setting him onto the bed. "Let's see if we can get these off first..."

Delicately, Dustin probed for the end of the bandage wrapping on Riolu forehead, and once he found it, started unraveling. It came off relatively easily, and Dustin was surprised to see virtually no signs of the physical trauma he'd seen the day before. Going after the bandages on Riolu's chest and arms, he witnesses the same thing. The cuts and bruises from the battle yesterday had all but completely vanished; all that remained was a bit of a scar above Riolu's eye and a small sensitive bump on one of his paws.

_Heh...the miracles of modern medicine..._

"See Riolu? I told you you'd be fine!" Dustin said cheerfully as he threw the bandages into the room's wastebasket and plopped Riolu back onto his shoulder. Riolu raised a metaphorical eyebrow at this.

* * *

That morning turned out to be quite eventful.

For whatever reason, Juniper wasn't anywhere in the second-floor house. So the pair of Dustin and Riolu made their way down to the main floor of the lab, where they spent the next 20 minutes walking around, poking their heads in and out of various rooms and corridors as they looked for the professor. It was a good thing Dustin had taken that tour the day before. If he hadn't, he probably would have gotten lost early on. Sure, the lab itself wasn't _that _big, but all of the areas and machines within just made the whole place plain confusing to move around in.

Dustin was just thinking this to himself when he emerged back into the lobby...from the same hallway through which he'd originally left it. He'd just gone in a complete circle...without even realizing when he got turned around...and he hadn't even found anyone. Seriously, not even any assistants. The place was virtually empty.

He groaned aloud. Riolu came up behind him, walking along rather than hanging from Dustin's shoulder. Like Dustin, Riolu saw where they were, and also groaned.

"Okay...this is annoying..." Dustin muttered _**(It may seem like an overreaction to some of you, but if you had spent the last third of an hour looking for someone only to end up having gone in a circle, you'd be annoyed too)**__**.**_ Maybe, he thought, he should have paid more attention during the tour to the actual trip between each destination than to the destinations themselves. That probably would have helped, since all of the passageways looked pretty much the same. Either way, he had no idea where to go to find the professor. Heck, maybe she wasn't even in the lab at the moment. What if she'd gone out somewhere for a bit while he was asleep? Though that did seem a tad unlikely, given how early in the morning it was. Regardless, he had no way of knowing. It wasn't like he could see through walls or something.

...

Dustin smacked himself in the face for being stupid. The answer was _literally _right next to him.

"Hey, uh...Riolu?"

The Pokémon looked up.

"So, do you think you can use that aura-sensing power you've got? You know, to find the professor?"

Riolu was quiet for a second, before he smacked a paw to his face and shook his head slowly. Dustin was able to determine the feeling Riolu had not as annoyed, but as sheepish.

"Yeah, one of us probably should have thought of that before. Definitely more proactive than what we've been doing," Dustin chuckled. "Anyways, can you do it?"

Riolu looked back up and nodded an affirmative.

_Hold on a second._

Riolu closed his eyes and brought both of his paws together in front of him, almost as though he were praying. For a moment, nothing happened. Suddenly, the two large lobes on either side of Riolu's head, below the ears, rose up and stuck outward as though lifted by some unseen force. Faintly, the lobes began to vibrate, filling the air with an indistinct humming sound.

Dustin felt a slight tingling sensation in his body, but ignored it. He'd seen this whole process enough times to know what was happening. Using his ability to sense aura waves, Riolu was focusing on mentally probing the surroundings for any aura signatures, specifically Professor Juniper's. It didn't matter that there may have been walls in the way; Riolu could detect ripples of aura anywhere, even inside or behind objects. Of course, it was an imperfect art. Riolu always had to focus intently whenever he did this, leaving him exposed out in reality. The range in which Riolu could sense aura was also short (in comparison to those more skilled in the art, anyways). But like said, Juniper's lab wasn't super large anyway. The tingling that Dustin felt was a side-effect of being touched by Riolu's consciousness on an auric level. Dustin was used to it, but people who weren't typically got freaked out by the sensation. Therefore, Riolu usually made a point to avoid making direct mental contact with anyone other than Dustin.

Shortly after starting, Riolu ended his search. The lobes on his head dropped down as he opened his eyes and look back up at Dustin.

"Olu." _Found her._

"Great!" Dustin exclaimed. "Alright, lead the way!"

Riolu immediately headed off down the lobby's opposite hallway while Dustin followed. Again, the hallways all looked pretty much the same, save for the numbers next to each door they passed by, so there wasn't much to describe. But somehow, Dustin wasn't one bit surprised when he saw and recognized the door that Riolu eventually stopped in front of. In fact, he was shocked that he hadn't thought of _that _earlier as well.

"Thanks Riolu," he said, motioning for his partner to climb up onto him. Riolu did so, and Dustin approached the metal door. It being electric, it slid open for him once he got close enough.

* * *

Juniper was in the same part of the lab that they'd all been in the previous evening, going over the collected data on Riolu, when Dustin entered. She jumped a little when she heard the door slide open and saw them come in, but recovered quickly.

"Oh, Dustin! And Riolu too! Good morning!" she greeted, turning around to face them. "You're both up awfully early."

Dustin smiled and gave her a small wave. "Mornin', Professor," he said. Riolu also waved and cried out a greeting to Juniper. Dustin looked behind her at the large computer screen, which was currently flashing bits and streams of pictures and data, some of which he recognized from last night. "Any progress?" he asked, tilting his chin to the computer.

Juniper turned around and sighed. "No, I'm afraid not," she replied glumly. "There isn't very much reliable information about this, to be perfectly honest. Most of the time, when Pokémon reportedly know moves that they shouldn't be able to learn, it turns to be one big prank or scam. There are very few valid cases, and when there are, research usually provides a rational explanation for how the move was learned, such as by breeding, and it's then added to the Pokémon's known move listings." She turned back around to face Dustin. "Miraculously, I _did _manage to find information regarding one situation with the Pokémon Ranger Union involving a kidnapped Riolu that was both unnaturally strong knew Aura Sphere."

That caught Dustin's interest. "What did you find?"

Juniper put one of her hands onto the interface and brought up a new screen, with what looked like a news report on it. "I looked further into that, but I found out that the Riolu in question had been trained to know Aura Sphere, not born. So, we're back to square one..." she rubbed the bridge of her nose. Dustin suddenly noticed the dark bags underneath her eyes.

"Um...Professor...you haven't been down here all night, have you..?" he asked awkwardly.

Juniper smiled tiredly. "Well, no, not _all _night. I did try to go to sleep, but I couldn't stop thinking about all of this, so I came down and got back to work. Funny, I think I may have dozed off at some point during my research. Hmm...I can't remember!"

She giggled at herself while Dustin just shuffled his feet uncomfortably. Abruptly, Juniper stopped laughing and smiled again, this time for a different reason.

"Ah, but that's not why you're here, is it? If I remember correctly, you're planning to start out on your journey today, right?"

"Oh, right!" Dustin grinned. "So, uh...geez, how do we do this?"

Juniper waved her hand. "Oh, don't worry about it. If you could go wait in the lobby, I'll get everything ready and meet you out there, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Rolu!"

* * *

It actually didn't take that long, much to Dustin's surprise. He'd been somewhat expecting Juniper to not show up due to collapsing asleep somewhere (seriously, she looked _EXHAUSTED _back there). After they parted, Juniper went off down a hallway to go grab the things that Dustin would need, while Dustin went back to the lobby and sat down on one of the many couches lining the massive window-wall, as he'd grown accustomed to calling it. Riolu sat down next to him.

As he waited, Dustin was surprisingly...composed. He wasn't sure why, exactly. Before, whenever he thought about this day, he'd get all jittery and generally just couldn't keep still. Maybe it was the anticipation that had always gotten to him. Now, becoming a Trainer was no longer a spring-of-the-moment aspiration in life. It was reality. He was going to become a Trainer, and soon. That knowledge filled him with some sort of calm acceptance. Now he just had to wait.

And, like previously said, he didn't have to wait long. Only five minutes after he sat down on the couch, Professor Juniper rounded the corner of the hallway and entered the lobby. Dustin sprang up when he saw her. She was carrying a few things in her hands, it looked like.

Riolu followed Dustin off of the couch and stood next to him, while Juniper turned toward them both, smiling warmly.

"Well, it looks like the moment has finally come, Dustin," she said cheerily as she approached. She then stopped in front of Dustin. "You excited?"

"Really excited! Stoked!" Dustin blurted out.

Juniper laughed slightly at Dustin's enthusiasm. "Well, if that's how you feel, then let's not delay!"

She first handed him the item in her left hand, which was another cylindrical holder containing five miniaturized Poké Balls, identical to the one she'd given Trip the day prior. "As I'm sure you know, these are your Poké Balls. You can use these to capture any wild Pokémon that you may come across, should you wish for that Pokémon to join you."

Dustin carefully accepted the Poké Balls from Juniper, expressed his thanks, and placed the capsules in the front pocket of his shoulder-strap bag, where he'd decided beforehand he would be keeping them. Riolu tentatively sniffed the pocket, then promptly turned away. The small blue Pokémon harbored a great distaste for Poké Balls, or at least the concept of being inside of one. Riolu _did _in fact have a Poké Ball of his own, which was currently attached to Dustin's belt. However, he hated being in it, and instead chose to stay outside at all times except in case of an emergency.

Juniper then extended her open right hand, in the palm of which sat Pokédex, similar to Trip's aside from the fact that this one was mostly blue with a black pattern. "And this is the most important tool you'll use on your journey; the Pokédex! I'll assume you already know what it does, and how to use it. I hope you like the color. I picked it out just for you!"

However, as Dustin reached out to take the Pokédex, Juniper quickly withdrew her hand. "However," she spoke on, "before you take it, there's something I would like to ask you."

Dustin was curious. "What is it?" he asked.

Juniper looked him in the eye as she answered. "For a while now, I've been thinking of having someone to help me do research in faraway places within the Unova region, since I clearly can't be everywhere at once. A field assistant, if you will. There are plenty of unusual occurrences around Unova, some of which are too good to pass up for a scientist like myself, but it can be a big pain in the neck to have to constantly pack up and leave the lab every time something interesting pops up." She was quiet for a moment, as though contemplating, and continued. "I know it might seem a bit sudden, but I was wondering if perhaps you'd be interesting in taking on this role for me?"

Dustin's eyes widened, and he took a step back. He had been caught extremely off-guard by the offer. "I...uh...geez, I dunno...what brought this on?"

Again, Juniper smiled. "Well, I actually was planning to ask the last few Trainers who came by to start their journeys, but I decided against it each time. See, for each of them, it was kind of a 'go in, get your Pokémon, get out' sort of deal. You, however, seem to have a genuine interest in my work here. Not to mention," she added, taking on a sly aspect to her features, "You strike me as a boy with a lot of potential. Surely it wouldn't be too much of a bother to you, so I thought I'd ask."

Dustin blushed slightly at Juniper unexpected praise. "I don't know...what would I be doing?"

"Oh, nothing big! I won't be sending you off on giant detours to go collect data or anything! What I want is this: as you travel, if you happen to be in an area where something big is going down, and I can't be there personally, I'd like you to observe and report back to me with whatever you may find. Simple, right? And that includes any big events on your journey, research-related or not, so don't spare me any details! And as you travel, if you'd like, I can update you on how my own research is going, including any progress I make on your Riolu." She looked down at the Pokémon in question and grinned brightly. "So, what do you say? Are you interested?"

Dustin mulled it over for a few seconds. It didn't seem like all that bad of a prospect, in truth. And the professor had already done so much to help him, the least he could do was provide her with an occasional recap of his journey.

_It won't exactly be troublesome on my part, and I'll be helping out someone, so..._

"Okay, I'll do it!" Dustin finally decided.

"Wonderful!" Juniper happily replied, and pressed the Pokédex into Dustin's hand without any further delay. "I can't tell you how helpful this will be, thank you! Oh, and another thing. Since you've accepted the job..." she reached into the pocket of her white lab coat and pulled out what looked like a blue digital watch. She handed it to Dustin. "This is an Xtransceiver. I had an extra one, so I thought I'd give it to you. It has a video chat feature and excellent signal, so whenever it is and wherever you may be, we can contact each other easily."

Dustin stared at the device for a moment. Seriously, where did professors get off just handing our stuff like this for free? Then again, Dustin thought as he took the Xtransceiver and strapped it to his wrist, it wasn't exactly free, as he'd be doing some work for the professor. But still.

"You already have a starter Pokémon, so we can skip that part. So now I have just one thing left to give you..." Again, Juniper reached into her coat pocket and pulled out something, a small card. "Here you go," she said, giving it to Dustin, who looked it over and saw things like his picture, name, date of birth, and a weird five-digit code that read 65115. "That's your Trainer ID," Juniper elaborated. "It officially marks you as a Pokémon Trainer, recognized and certified by the Pokémon League Federation. I got it for you just last night. I got the picture from Professor Rowan, who said _he _got it from your family back in Sinnoh, so don't worry. That five-digit code is your ID number. You'd do well to memorize it, in case you lose your ID, both to shut down that one and so you can get a new one."

Juniper closed her eyes for a moment and put her chin between her thumb and forefinger, humming in thought. "Right then..." She opened her eyes. "That's about it. Congratulations Dustin, you are now a full-fledged Pokémon Trainer."

Dustin had been feeling elated ever since the conversation started, so there really wasn't any new emotion at the announcement. Instead, he settled for a inward whoop of joy, resolving to properly express his joy once he and Riolu were on the road.

Juniper looked out the window and into the sky. "The weather is nice today. Overall perfect weather for traveling," she observed. Turning back to Dustin, she continued. "The closest Pokémon Gym from where we are is in Striaton City, so I would think that, because of that, the best thing to do would be to challenge to Striaton Gym first."

"Thanks! I'll do that!"

"You know, you _might _even run into Trip..." Juniper smiled. "He left here ahead of you..." she said teasingly.

Dustin's eyes widened as he abruptly remembered the entire chain of events from yesterday, all the way from greeting the blonde-haired boy to watching as Snivy took out Riolu with that move, Leaf Tornado. He remembered the feeling he'd gotten when he watched Trip get his first Pokémon, the one he'd gotten when Trip challenged him to a battle, and the one he'd gotten while battling. Most of all, he remembered the condition that Trip and Snivy had put Riolu in. Looking down at his feet, Dustin locked eyes with his partner, who was looking back up at him. Again, their thoughts were exchanged. Dustin grinned.

"Next time we see him...he'd better be ready to lose," he muttered aloud, in a determined tone that dared the universe to try him.

* * *

The sun had now fully risen above the horizon, and was now beginning its gradual ascent toward noon. Dustin, Riolu, and Professor Juniper stood outside the lab. Dustin had checked, double-checked, and triple-checked to make sure he had all of the supplies he needed. Everything was accounted for. Riolu was pumped, and so was he. Only one thing was left...

He turned back to Professor Juniper. "Thanks again, professor, for everything," he said, extending his hand.

Juniper took his hand and shook it. "It's no trouble, Dustin," she replied warmly. "Best of luck to you out there. And remember, don't forget our arrangement. I'd like to hear about anything that happens while you're traveling."

"Of course."

"Also, there's a Pokémon Center on the other side of the forest. Stop by there if you need help!"

"Will do!"

"Right!" Dustin spun on his heel and faced down the road to Route 1. Here he was. It was finally starting. He took one last look at Professor Juniper. "See you later!" he declared. "Let's go Riolu!"

"Rolu!"

And with that, the two of them, human and Pokémon, sprinted off down the paved road, growing smaller and smaller to Juniper's vision as they went. She watched for some time, then sighed happily. "It's always great to witness the beginning of another story..." she muttered to no one but herself. Then she turned around and headed back into the lab.

Unbeknownst to her, one of the Pokémon under her care, a short blue and white otter creature, had snuck out of the lab, and was now also watching Dustin's retreating form. It's mind made up, the little Pokémon emerged from behind its tree and sped off down the road, following the new Trainer and his partner.

* * *

_Author's Note:_ So that's that! The journey has officially begun! What new exciting thrills and twisty-turns await our hero and his faithful partner? Find out on the next installment of...

_**Pokémon: True Journeys!**_

Also, a certain female character that most of you know and love will be making her appearance next chapter! Huzzah!

And here is this chapter's reader question:

*ahem* Given the opportunity, what Pokémon Profession, besides Trainer, would you take up? This includes things like professor, coordinator, and Gym Leader, but do not limit yourself to just those! Use your imagination (meaning don't everyone instantly pick Gym Leader without serious consideration)! Just think about what famous so-and-so you'd like to be in the Pokémon World.

And now, finally, I will take a page from Coli Chibi's style and add in this fun little bit at the end detailing Dustin's current team.

* * *

**Dustin's Party:**

**1: Riolu, male**

**Ability: ?**

**Move Set: Aura Sphere (kinda), Quick Attack, and Bite.**


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note: _Greetings once again! Welcome back, fans! Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and given my extra 24 hours of time off of school, I thought it would be fruitful to get this chapter uploaded today.

Something I've always found curious. MLK Jr. Day is in January...yet Black History Month is February. Huh. Well, we can't control when people are born, I guess. Oh well. No biggie.

Moving on. I know that this is a long-awaited chapter for many of you. Why? Because a certain beloved someone will be making a first-time official appearance! But for those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, of which I am sure there are few, this will simply be the first chapter of Dustin's journey since it officially started in the last chappy.

Well, I hate to keep you all waiting. Enjoy!

* * *

A Rocky First Encounter!

Ten minutes.

That was how long Dustin managed to run at top-speed before his excitement gave way to exhaustion, and he had to stop. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it), by then he was already well-submerged within the forested region of Route 1.

Dustin slowed down and doubled over, taking huge gulps of air as he tried to regain his breath. He could hear the blood rushing around through his head, and imagined that his face must've looked beet red. He reached up and wiped his forehead. His hand came back covered in sweat. Despite all of this, Dustin couldn't help but grin stupidly. He'd never felt this alive before in his life.

Riolu came up to the side and stopped, bouncing on each leg in a mock running-in-place motion. The Fighting-Type still had plenty of energy to burn, naturally, fueled even further by the excitement he shared with his Trainer. He sent a questioning thought to Dustin.

The boy smiled with a bit of effort. "Yeah...just...give me...a minute...I just...have to...catch my breath..." he groaned out between gasps.

As one might be able to tell, stamina wasn't exactly Dustin's strong suit. While he _could _run very fast, he was more of a short-distance runner. He'd only been able to come this far on account of his pent-up enthusiasm. Riolu was the opposite. Well, opposite in terms of stamina. Riolu could run just as fast as Dustin when he wasn't even trying; much faster than Dustin if he was. The big difference was that Riolu had a seemingly endless reservoir of energy when it came to aerobic exercise. Of course, this was to be expected from a Fighting-Type Pokémon such as he.

One advantage that Dustin did have over Riolu, though, was that he made quick recoveries. Unusually quick, his mother had once told him, due to his high metabolism. It only took a minute for him to get his vigor back. Shortly after Riolu had sat down to wait, Dustin rose back up to his full height, his face color back to normal.

"Phew...okay, I'm good. Let's get going, Riolu."

Riolu smiled, eager to get back on the road to...wherever it was they were going. Riolu didn't even know himself. He just hoped that Dustin did, otherwise...well, bad things had a tendency to happen to the two of them when they got lost in the woods.

But as Riolu started to get up, one of his ears twitched. He paused mid-movement and listened carefully. Now that he was actually paying attention to it, he could hear something...rustling, from the sound of it. It wasn't one of the natural forest sounds, which meant that something, likely a living creature, was moving through the underbrush. The sound was coming from their left, farther off of the trail.

Dustin had already walked several yards ahead when he realized that Riolu wasn't with him. He looked around and saw the Pokémon still in the same spot where he had been, staring intently into the trees.

"Riolu, what's up?" Dustin asked as he made his way back.

"Ro, olu olu," Riolu said, pointing in the direction he had heard the noise coming from.

"Hmm? Something out there?" Dustin asked. Being much taller than Riolu meant that he could see farther, so he tried to line up his sight with the direction in which Riolu was pointing. Then he scanned the area, giving it a once-over with his eyes.

It didn't take long for him to spot something out-of-place. A short ways off of the path, maybe six or so yards (again, he sucked with judging distances), partially concealed behind a bush was what looked like a large, roundish purple creature, with small bands of yellow near the top. It stood out like a sore thumb against the greenery backdrop.

_Is that a Pokémon? _Dustin wondered. He tried moving forward a bit for a closer look. Whatever the creature was, it hadn't seemed to notice them yet, since it didn't give any indication that it knew they were there. It just continued on with whatever it was doing behind that bush.

Dustin looked down at Riolu and brought a finger to his lips in a 'shush' gesture. Riolu nodded, indicating that he understood. Slowly, Dustin reached into his coat pocket and slipped out his new Pokédex. Holding it up, he pushed a button on the side multiple times to reduce the volume, then pressed the button at the bottom. The upper half of the black Pokédex slid upward, revealing its dual screens, while the red light was released from the back, running up and down the creature at which Dustin pointed the machine. After a moment, the scanner disappeared, and the dual screens lit up; at the top was the image, on the bottom were the basic statistics. The Pokédex spoke, quieter due to Dustin lowering the volume, but loud enough for him to hear.

**"Axew, the Tusk Pokémon. Axew use their tusks to mark their territory by leaving gashes in trees, as well as to crush the berries they eat. The tusks have a tendency to fall out or break off, but grow back quickly. Repeated regrowth makes their tusks strong and sharp."**

Dustin stared at the image that his Pokédex was providing him, which was that of a bipedal, greenish-colored reptilian creature with a small tail, small limbs, noticeable nostrils and pale tusks protruding from the sides of its mouth. Then he looked back up at the creature.

"Okay...that doesn't look anything like what I'm seeing here..." he muttered. "Oh well. A Pokémon is a Pokémon!"

With that, he reached into his bag and pulled out one of the Poké Balls Juniper had given him. Pressing the button on it, it expanded to fit firmly within his hand. "Okay, go Poké Ball!" he shouted, lobbing the capsule at the creature. It flew on course, thankfully...got closer...closer...and bonked the creature right on the head.

"Ouch!" it yelled out.

Dustin froze. _O-ouch?! _He thought, alarmed.

The creature rose up from behind the bush...and revealed itself to actually be a girl. A really ticked-off girl who was rubbing the back of her head in pain. "OKAY, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" she roared, turning around to see Dustin standing there in all his glory...which wasn't much at the moment.

The girl glared at him, then looked down and saw the object of her pain; a Poké Ball. She angrily picked it up and stomped over to him. "Okay buddy, what's the big idea?!" she snarled as she got closer. "You just go around throwing Poké Balls at people, is that it?! Answer me!"

"I-I...I...ah..." Dustin was at a loss for words. His brain had yet to fully comprehend what had just happened. All he could do was stare back at the girl while his brain struggled to come up with something. She was his height, had dark, chocolate-brown skin, and was wearing a loose-looking cream-colored shirt and white Capri pants, as well as a pink sweatshirt tied around her waist, and had a pink backpack slung over her shoulders. Her eyes, which were currently boring into his, were a bright amber-brown color. Her delicate-looking features had anger written all over them. But the one thing that Dustin just couldn't take his eyes off of was her hair. Purple, long, and...just...huge! The whole thing by itself looked like it may have weighed as much as (if not _more than_) the rest of her entire body! It was wider than her head, reached down below her waist, and basically looked like a massive cushion. Near the bottom, it was held in place by a broad yellow band. At the top, it was tied into two (also large) puffy pigtails, which stayed up as though defying gravity. In fact, the whole set of hair seemed to defy the laws of physics. Dustin couldn't imagine how, or why for that matter, anyone could walk around with hair like that...

"...HELLO? ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?"

Dustin was brought back into reality by the impatiently yelling voice of the girl.

"Uh...sorry...I just..." he had to force himself not to start staring at her hair again. "Well...I kinda thought that you were a Pokémon, so I just..."

_Well, THAT sure wasn't the correct response,_ Dustin thought grimly to himself.

"What? So you're telling me that I look like a Pokémon?" The girl spoke in a deathly calm voice, slowly moving closer to him. "Well then, tell me...your Pokédex..." she suddenly put on a an adorable smile, "is this cute face in there?" Then the smile disappeared and was once again replaced by anger. "TELL ME, IS IT?!"

Dustin took a step back, raising up his arms in defense. "Ah, n-no, o-of course not! Uh..." he racked his brain for a way out of this. "It's just...I thought...because of your hair, I..."

_And now I'm just digging a deeper hole for myself._

"What about my hair?" She leaned forward, getting right in his face. "You mean to tell me that you thought I was a Pokémon because of my HAIR?! Well let me tell you something, little mister! You have absolutely no appreciation for true fashion when you see it! And you know what else? ONLY AN IDIOT WOULD MISTAKE AN INNOCENT GIRL WHO'S LOOKING FOR BERRIES FOR A POKÉMON!"

"Okay! I...uh...I'm sorry?"

"Fine."

Dustin opened his eyes (which he didn't remember closing) and saw that the girl was suddenly no longer within an inch of his face. She was now standing at a normal distance from him. Strangest, though, was that she also no longer appeared angry.

The girl smiled sweetly. "I accept your apology," she said calmly, throwing Dustin for an insane loop.

_What...I just...she was...I didn't...yelling...right in my...mistake...hair...what just...sorry...holy guacamole, ABOUT-FACE MUCH?!_

"But," the girl continued merrily, wagging her finger back and forth, "you have a _long _way to go as a Pokémon Trainer if you think I look like a Pokémon! Right Axew?"

At this, she brought her other hand, in which Dustin saw a half-eaten Sitrus Berry, up to the side of her head. Then the creature emerged from her hair...yes, actually from _inside _her thick volume of hair. A short, green reptile with massive tusks.

"Axew axew!" It cried happily as it started munching on the berry.

"Whoa!" Dustin almost stumbled forward, he was so shocked. "So that's where it was..."

Now that he could see it in person, he was able to make out more of the details. in addition to everything he had already noticed about the Pokémon, the back of its head, tipped with dark grayish-green coloration, had a horn-like, pointed and tall protrusion. It also had the dark gray-green coloration around its eyes, which had red irises. A collar-like, forest-green patterning encircled its neck; the rest of its body was a lighter, but duller, grayish green.

The Pokémon, Axew, jumped out of the girl's hair with the berry still in its mouth and landed on the ground, where it continued to eat. The girl looked down at the reptilian creature and giggled slightly...and her eyes just so happened to wander over to where Riolu was standing, clutching Dustin's leg in fright due to her previous outburst.

"No way! Riolu!?" she exclaimed with excitement, kneeling down to Riolu's height. She didn't seem to notice that her approach was making Riolu even more scared. "I've never seen one of you in person before!" She smiled and reached forward, grabbing him in both arms and pulling him into a smothering hug. This action almost sent Riolu into hysterics, but again, the girl didn't notice. "Oh you've got to be the sweetest little thing ever! So cute!" she squealed in delight, rubbing her face against Riolu's. "Look at that precious little face! And those huge ears!" She grabbed one of Riolu's sensor-lobes and started playing with it. "Oh this little one is so adorable I could just die!"

Riolu was on the verge on losing it. He grunted and tried to squirm away, but he might as well have been trying to fight against one of those dreaded seat belts. The girl's grip was like iron.

Dustin was still standing there, watching the event unfold. Part of him wanted to pull Riolu away from the girl (who he was starting to have massive worries about), but something else in him really wanted to see what would happen.

The girl rose back up to her feet, clutching Riolu's wriggling form to her chest. "Well I for one am dying to know what a Riolu of all things is doing here in Unova!" she said to Dustin. "Come on, tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me!"

"Okay, calm down," Dustin muttered. "We're from Sunnyshore City in the Sinnoh Region."

The girl stopped rubbing Riolu for a moment and looked back up at him. "Sunnyshore City?" she asked.

"Yeah. My name's Dustin, and that's my partner Riolu," he gestured to the seriously unhappy blue canine. "We came from the Sinnoh region to enter the Unova League."

_Okay, that's it,_ Riolu thought to himself.

"Isn't that nice!" The girl smiled. She extended one of her arms out, not noticing Riolu extend an arm of his own, except upward instead of outward. "Well, it's nice to meet you! I'm Iris!" she announced. That was all she got to say, however, as a small blue orb of energy formed in Riolu's outstretched paw at that moment. She looked at it inquisitively for a moment, right before Riolu launched it...straight into her face. At this range, it didn't miss.

The next thing Dustin saw was a small explosion right in front of him. He had to shield his eyes from the sudden burst of blue light, followed by the smoke. When it all cleared away after a minute, Dustin hesitantly opened them again. What he saw was Riolu, standing on the ground with a vein throbbing in his forehead and a slight trial of steam rising from his still outstretched paw; Iris, lying face up on the ground not very far away, only barely conscious, muttering unintelligible things with dirt and singe-marks all over her clothes; and Axew, who was only just now looking up from his meal to see what all of the fuss was about.

* * *

_Author's Note: _SHORT CHAPTER!

Yeah, I regret to say that there will inevitably have to be quite a few of these in the story. No worries though! Next chapter in already in production!

Oh Riolu, you mischievous little thing, you.

Riolu: *smiles sheepishly and shrugs while blushing heavily*

And the Reader Question for today is this:

*glares at Riolu* Was Riolu's reaction to being hugged by Iris just a little too overboard?

Let us know, but only after you review this chapter! Sayonara!


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's Note: _And after a long wait, we're back!

Sorry everyone. I hate excuses, but this is a legitimate one. I meant to upload this almost two weeks ago, and it should have been uploaded, but there was some kind of issue with my account. It wouldn't let me upload any chapters on anything. I tried multiple times. Eventually I just contacted the admins about it and, after a little while, they got the problem sorted out for me. It was a bit of a scare, because they told me that there was a possibility of me having to make a hard reboot of my profile. For those of you who don't know what that is, it basically means that I would have had to make a whole new one. Fortunately, I was able to avoid that. Still not sure what the problem was in the first place though. Oh well. It's fine now.

So, back to the story. Since it's been a while, I'll give you all a refresher. The last chapter ended with Riolu giving our girl Iris an Aura Sphere to the face. Fun times.

One more note. As this is chapter 9, you should all know that, come chapter 10, I will be going back and fixing any grammatical/sequential errors that any of you may have noticed. Special thanks to Feibush Melech for providing a whole ton of help on that regard. I hope you continue to do so.

And now...I'm out of words. You can read. Please do enjoy, as this is the longest chapter thus far.

* * *

The Hyper and the Unpredictable

"Heheh...sorry about that..." Iris said sheepishly, apologizing for her earlier handling of Riolu. The four of them - Dustin, Riolu, Iris, and Axew - were currently sitting across from each other on the grass. Dustin and Riolu sat next to each other while facing Iris and Axew, who also sat next to each other across from them. Shortly after the...'incident', Dustin was going to call it...Iris had regained consciousness with the help of Dustin and Axew. She still had numerous smudges on her face and clothes, but otherwise seemed none the worse for wear, miraculously. Axew was relieved by this...and promptly went back to eating its Sitrus berry.

Riolu, for one, didn't seem pleased by Iris's apology (though, ironically, _he _should have been the one saying sorry). He sat on the ground with his arms and legs crossed and his eyes closed in a huffy manner. His only response to Iris was a short grunt.

Dustin sighed. "It's okay," he told Iris. "Riolu just really doesn't like to be held...at least not that tightly..."

Riolu nodded in agreement. As Iris opened her mouth to respond, she suddenly winced and put a hand on her side. It made Dustin concerned. "Hey, are you sure you're alright?"

Iris put on a smile. "Don't worry, I'm just a little sore. But I'm fine, really!" she assured him.

"Well...okay, if you say so." Dustin rubbed his neck. Truth be told, he was just happy that he didn't have to take her to a hospital or anything. Explaining this whole 'incident' to a doctor or nurse wouldn't have been very fun. He laughed a little. "It's a good thing Riolu held back for you. I know getting hit by an Aura Sphere probably wasn't the best introduction...but at least you weren't seriously injured!"

Iris joined in on Dustin's mirth. "Yeah..." she giggled, right before falling silent. She looked down at Riolu with a thoughtful expression. "You know," she said to Dustin, "I didn't realize it until Riolu used Aura Sphere, but I recognize you from yesterday."

Dustin blinked. "Uh...really? From where?"

Iris lifted her hand and pointed back down the road Dustin and Riolu had come from. "Outside of that lab building, back near Nuvema Town. We saw your battle against that other guy. You know, the guy with a Snivy?"

Dustin hardly required any elaboration on Iris's part. "Trip..." he muttered. The memory of his defeat at the hands of the smug blonde Trainer was still fresh in his mind, which was only natural when you considered that it hadn't yet been a full day since it happened.

"It was a great match!" Iris exclaimed. "It's too bad you lost. Still, you and Riolu were really good! The two of you put up an awesome fight! It's funny, I didn't recognize Riolu while I was watching. I'm not sure why. But yeah, the battle was really fun to watch! Right Axew?"

The little reptilian creature looked up. "Ax ew ew!" it agreed enthusiastically.

By now, Riolu had stopped pouting and was smiling from all of the compliments being thrown in his direction. Dustin himself was a bit embarrassed by the praise, and was blushing slightly. "Ah, thanks! That means a lot actually, since it was our first battle ever!" he said, grinning. Then he stopped. "Hey, wait. I didn't know we had an audience. Where were you, exactly?"

This time, it was Iris's turn to blush. "Oh...well, see...I was _kinda _hiding in the trees..."

Dustin cocked an eyebrow. "...and _why _were you in the trees?"

"Oh, it wasn't something weird or anything like that!" Iris immediately responded, putting up her hands defensively. "Me and Axew were looking for Sitrus berries over there. We just overheard you and that guy talking and getting ready to battle, so we decided to watch."

"...okaaaaayyy..." Dustin drawled.

_Lovely, _he thought. _So aside from Professor Juniper, we had _another _secret observer. Add to that her flipping out at me earlier and almost suffocating Riolu, making him almost go ballistic...this girl has -3 points with me so far. Though I guess there isn't any harm in just watching us battle...and I guess I _did _throw a Poké Ball at her head...and Riolu _may _have overdid it by using Aura Sphere on her..._

"So Dustin, I'm curious," Iris interrupted his train of thought. "You said that you're from Sinnoh, right? So then why are you starting your journey in Unova?"

"Oh." Dustin leaned back a little. "Well that's sort of a long story. See, my mom is-"

"Rio! Riolu!" Riolu suddenly jumped up, cutting off Dustin mid-sentence. His ears were raised and alert, the same way they always got whenever he noticed something out-of-the-ordinary.

"Huh? What is it Riolu?"

The Emanation Pokémon was facing Dustin's left, farther into the forest. He simply raised a paw a pointed urgently at something in the tree line while staring intently the same way.

"What's going on?" Iris inquired. Dustin narrowed his eyebrows.

"I don't know...hold on," he told her. He swiftly got up to his feet and followed Riolu's gaze, searching for whatever it was that had caught his Pokémon's attention. However, unlike the situation with Iris, Dustin was unable to find anything that really stood out from the rest of the surroundings. There were plenty of trees, obviously. Some of the trees had vines hanging from them, as well as large blankets of moss. There was also an abundance of bushes scattered about. One of them he saw had yellow flowers, but the majority had variations of pink and purple. A few were even growing Sitrus berries, like the one Axew was eating. Breaks in the treetops allowed the occasional ray of sunlight to shine through, illuminating sections of the forest floor, which was very...well, grassy.

He must have been making Riolu impatient, because the Pokémon hurriedly jumped onto his shoulder, grabbed his head, and manually turned it so that he was looking in the correct direction. It took a moment for Dustin to understand what he was seeing.

There. He would have missed it entirely if Riolu hadn't decided to help out. But he saw it; the yellow-flowered bush. Now that Dustin was actually getting a good look at it, he could see that it wasn't a bush at all. Far from it. What he'd originally taken to be leaves and flowers were now clearly distinguishable as green fur patterned with yellow spots. And upon further inspection, Dustin was able to make out the near-white underside of the creature, as well as its basic shape: four legs, lean body, small tail, and a head that was lowered to the ground as it grazed. He instantly recognized it.

It's amazing what you can discover when you take a moment to actually _look _at something, isn't it?

"Hey...that's the Pokémon from yesterday!" Dustin blurted out in excitement. And indeed, it was one of the Pokémon that he and Riolu had seen during their car ride with Professor Juniper the previous day. If his memory served, the professor had identified it as a 'Deerling'.

Dustin was ecstatic. This time there was no mistake; they'd found a wild Pokémon! Unfortunately, the Deerling picked that moment to stop grazing and went leaping deeper into the woods. Witnessing this, Dustin pulled himself together.

"Quick, let's go Riolu!" he told his partner, who was already on his shoulder, so it was just as well. Dustin ran three steps. He stopped just before the fourth, spinning around to face Iris. "So yeah, it was nice meeting you Iris! Sorry about the whole fiasco. Maybe I'll bump into you again somewhere. See ya!" With that he spun back around and shot off after the Deerling, not giving Iris so much as a chance to respond.

"...umm...what..?"

"...axew?"

* * *

Dustin followed the Deerling for about a minute. Brief though it was, it was still a pretty rough chase; the Deerling ahead of him was effortlessly and speedily bounding through the forest while Dustin struggled to navigate through shrubs and between trees. Fortunately for him, Riolu was there to point him in the right direction once he started to lose the trail. Seriously, Dustin had no idea where he'd be in life if it weren't for the little guy.

They soon arrived at the edge of a small clearing. Dustin ducked behind a bush, taking Riolu with him. Then they both slowly peered over their cover.

The clearing by itself consisted of little more - in fact, _nothing _more - than a pond and flat area of grass beside it. Not very interesting. What Dustin and Riolu _did _find interesting however was that, in addition to the initial Deerling they'd been chasing (the individual which, by now, they'd both lost track of), there were at least 20 other wild Deerling simply milling about right in front of them. Seriously.

"Whoa. I didn't think we'd find the whole herd..." Dustin whispered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Riolu nod in agreement. And it was in fact a herd that they'd stumbled upon. Some of the Deerling were gently grazing while a few others were drinking from the pond. The rest of the doe-like Pokémon were either running around and playing with each other (those were mainly the younger ones, it looked like) or silently dozing on the bed of grass beneath the warmth of the sun. None of them seemed to yet be aware of Dustin and Riolu's presence. Carefully, Dustin pulled his Pokédex out of his pocket. "Just to be clear..." he mumbled to himself as he raised the Pokédex and scanned the nearest Deerling. The device activated, speaking with a lowered volume.

**"Deerling, the Season Pokémon. With the change of each season, the color and scent of a Deerling's fur also changes to match the surroundings. Ancient civilizations supposedly used them as a way to mark the seasons. When sensing hostility, most Deerling either hide in the grass or flee."**

"Thought so," Dustin muttered. He looked at part of the lower screen. "Alrighty, so Deerling is a...Normal and Grass-type?" He stared at the information being displayed. "Huh. That's unique." Shrugging, he reached back into his pocket and traded his Pokédex for the Poké Ball he'd thrown at Iris earlier (she had been kind enough to return it). Expanding it, he grasped the ball firmly in his hand. "Okay...this time for real...I'm gonna catch a Pokémon!" Determination shining in his eyes, Dustin stood up, exposing himself, and targeted the same Deerling he'd scanned, who was among those quietly grazing. Facing away from him, it gave no indication of having noticed his movement. Dustin seized the opportunity.

"Let's try this again! Go Poké Ball!" he announced, pitching the capsule at the Deerling. It flew through the air, straight on course. As he watched it get closer and closer to its target, Dustin allowed himself to grow excited.

That excitement was abruptly cut short, however, when the Deerling did something completely unexpected. It stopped what it was doing and raised its head just as the Poké Ball was about to make contact. Then, with a simple flick of its ear, it swatted the capsule aside with a hollow _SMACK._ The red-and-white ball went rolling away in the grass, never once popping open. The Deerling then went back to eating as though nothing had happened.

Dustin stared. Slowly and deliberately, he pieced together everything he'd just seen. Finally, his jaw dropped.

"What the...that...that's not even fair!" he almost yelled. He probably _would've _started yelling, but that was right about when-

"Well, what did you think was gonna happen?"

"GAH!"

Dustin whirled around frantically and fell over into the bush, almost landing on top of a startled Riolu in the process. Now trying to ignore the newfound pain in his pelvis, he looked up. Standing before him was none other than Iris, with her hands on her hips and a very unimpressed look on her face. Peeking its head out of Iris's own personal forest (hair) was Axew, looking down at the scene curiously.

"What the heck?!" he cried, not bothering to keep his voice down anymore. "Iris, did you follow me?!"

Iris shook her head in annoyance. "Never mind that. Did you really expect to capture that Deerling just by throwing a Poké Ball at it?"

Dustin suddenly became confused. He blinked slowly. "Uh...yeah, pretty much. Isn't that how it works?"

Iris sighed heavily. "Wow, you are such a little kid. You obviously can't catch a Pokémon just by tossing Poké Balls around willy-nilly! You have to battle it first. I thought everyone knew that..."

Dustin blinked again. "Oh," he said candidly. He actually hadn't known that, but it did make sense. A battle would weaken the Pokémon, making it easier to capture. That settled it. With his new plan decided, Dustin rose to his feet and patted the leaves from his clothes. "Well, thanks for the tip! but I'm not a little kid. I'm new to all of this, okay?"

Iris shrugged, but didn't say anything more.

Dustin looked down at Riolu, who had been silent for the past couple of minutes. "Okay buddy, you ready to fight?" he asked. Riolu nodded excitedly. "Right! Then let's go!"

* * *

Dustin and Riolu burst out of cover at the same time and ran into the clearing. Literally immediately, every single Deerling in the area, even the ones that were sleeping, ceased whatever it was doing and raised its head to look at them. Dustin stopped and singled out the same Deerling that he'd previously tried to capture. Riolu went and took a combat stance ahead of him.

"Alright, time to battle!" Dustin shouted. "Riolu, use-"

"DEERLIIIIIING!"

Now, Dustin couldn't tell which Deerling was the one that gave it, but that loud shriek was apparently the equivalent of a red alarm. In a split second, the entire herd was bolting, filling the air with panicked cries and the sound of hooves hitting earth. A surprisingly large cloud of dust rose from the ground in their wake.

It was all happening so fast, Dustin had little time to react. "Hey, wait!" was all he got to say as he impulsively reached out with his arm when the dust cloud enveloped both him and Riolu. he made the mistake of breathing in. On instinct, he screwed his eyes tightly shut and coughed into his elbow while he used to other arm to wave away the dirt lingering in the air. After a few more moments, the dust settled. Dustin hesitantly cracked one eye open, then fully opened both eyes. He and Riolu were now the only ones in the clearing. All of the Deerling were gone, just like that.

"Hey, hold on! Come back!" he called out in vain. "I just wanted to battle and capture one of you! Wait, that probably isn't helping. Agh, darn it!"

Dustin stamped his foot in frustration. Carefully, Riolu approached and looked up at him with his ears down. "Ro lu rio?" the Pokémon asked sadly.

"Huh? Nah, it wasn't your fault buddy," Dustin reassured. He knelt down a patted Riolu on the head, which quickly got the Pokémon the brighten up. "Still, I didn't think we'd scare them all away. Maybe we should have stayed hidden and attacked like that..."

"And how would that have worked? You were never hidden to begin with!"

Dustin looked over his shoulder. Iris had entered the clearing and was walking toward them with an amused smile. Her words confused Dustin greatly.

"Iris...what do you mean?" he asked as he stood up and turned around.

Iris stopped in front of him and sighed. "I mean that those Deerling obviously knew you were there, right from the get-go. I mean, you weren't hiding very well."

"...I wasn't?"

"No, you weren't," she said. "Maybe you didn't notice, but you weren't exactly being discreet when you practically tore through the forest to get here. And then you were noisy when you tried to hide behind a bush right next to the herd, so of course they noticed you. Why do you think that one Deerling didn't freak out when you threw a Poké Ball at it?" Before Dustin could respond, she answered her own question for him. "Because it already knew where you were, so it knew where the Poké Ball came from! That's also how it was able to deflect it!"

Dustin was flabbergasted. He wasn't sure how, but everything Iris had said so far made sense. "W-well," he stammered, "if they knew where I was, then why didn't they run right off the bat? Or better yet, why were they scared when I jumped out?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Iris asked. Dustin shook his head no, and she groaned loudly. "They didn't run because they didn't think you were dangerous. At least not until you ran out into the open and started yelling like a maniac. _That's _what set them off. Do you even think about these things before you do them?"

Dustin took in everything she said, including the last question (which probably referred to more than just this one blunder), but didn't answer. Instead, he blushed, started rubbing his neck, and laughed nervously.

Iris sighed again, but while smiling this time. "Just like I thought. Charging in without any clue what you're doing. You really are a kid."

Dustin frowned. "No I'm not, so stop calling me that!" he replied angrily, raising his voice. "I made a mistake, alright? Why are you even here anyway?"

Axew retreated further within Iris's hair in fear of Dustin's sudden outburst. iris crossed her arms. "Well, _someone's _being awfully rude," she huffed. "I was just joking. And for your information, I'm only here because you ran off in such a hurry. I wanted to know what was up, that's all. Is that so bad?"

Dustin was about to retort, but stopped himself. "I...no." He sighed and gazed downward, now feeling guilty. "Sorry for yelling. I'm just a bit upset about all of this. You know, failure to catch my first wild Pokémon and all. It's agitating."

_You rubbing it in doesn't exactly help either, _he thought.

Iris hummed to herself for a moment. Then she brought her arms back down to her sides and smiled jovially. "Alright. I accept your apology. _Again,_" she added with emphasis.

In spite of himself, Dustin grinned. He didn't know why he did it; he just did. Somehow, hearing those words from Iris just made him feel better. He didn't get much time to contemplate it though. Before he could verbally respond, Dustin felt a light tugging sensation on his lower body, getting progressively harder to not notice. Curious as to what the cause was, he shifted his vision over slightly. he saw Riolu standing by his feet, reaching up and pulling semi-gently at the left leg of his shorts, as though trying to get his attention. The Pokémon had one of those 'come on, hurry up!' expressions as he looked up at him.

_Sheesh, and they call _me _impatient? I haven't even been talking for a full minute! _Dustin thought with amusement. Nevertheless, he abided by his partner's wishes. he shrugged his shoulder-strap into a somewhat more comfortable position as he spoke again.

"Okay...right! Well, I guess me and Riolu should get going then. We've got a lot of ground to cover, I think. So, thanks for the...help," he squeezed out the last word after a momentary lapse. Turning around, he added over his shoulder, "Maybe I'll see you around somewhere. Bye then. Come on Riolu."

"Rolu!"

Without another word, and mentally berating himself for that rather awkward farewell, Dustin began walking away with Riolu in tow.

"Hopefully we'll find another wild Pokémon on the way to Striaton, and actually manage to catch it this time," he said directly to Riolu, who was walking beside him.

He'd barely taken his seventh step when Iris's voice made him stop.

"Wait!" she called out behind them. Dustin and Riolu looked back at her. "Where are you going?" she asked.

Not really caring why she wanted to know, Dustin answered. "Striaton City. We're gonna go challenge the gym there and earn our first Gym Badge!"

A couple of silent moments passed. Iris then, for some unknown reason, started laughing. Dustin was taken aback by this. "What? What's so funny?"

Iris quieted down and coughed a little before looking at him with a bemused expression. "If you're going to Striaton City," she said, "then you should know that you're going the wrong way. Striaton City is north from here. You're going west."

"Huh?" Dustin looked back at where he'd been going, then to his left and right, as though expecting to see a 'This way to Striaton City' sign posted up somewhere. He turned back to Iris. "Really?"

"Mm-hmm," she confirmed with a nod. "Trust me, there's nothing out that way except for ocean and a few small islands. It's just one big dead-end. You're better off going north. That way there's fewer U-turns involved."

Dustin considered this. Thinking back on it, he recalled seeing something on the map in his Unova brochure that looked a lot like what Iris was now describing. He decided to take her word for it. "Alright...thanks!" he said after a moment's hesitation. He was about to start walking again, but he halted. He thought about it for a few seconds, scratching his head as he did so. "Uh...how do I know which way is north?" he finally asked.

If Iris was annoyed by this question, she didn't show it. "Oh, that's easy. You see the sun and where it's rising from?" she asked, pointing up at the bright flaming disc, which hadn't moved much compared to when Dustin last looked at it. "Well, no matter where you are in the world, the sun always rises from the east and sets in the west," she explained. "So, with that in mind, if we were to face the direction that the sun is rising from..." she turned around and did so, "...then north would be to our left, and south to our right. And if you're facing west, then it's the opposite. So the sky can be used like one giant compass!"

Dustin's eyes widened, but he recovered quickly. "Huh. Cool! Yeah, that's definitely handy!" Riolu, probably tired of standing and waiting, took that time to climb up and perch himself on Dustin's shoulder. Dustin took this as his cue. "Right then. Uh...thanks again!" he called out unceremoniously before sprinting in the direction that he now recognized as north.

This time, he managed to take _eight _steps before he heard Iris's voice behind him.

"Hold on a second!"

Dustin skidded to a halt and reeled around to look at her. He was starting to notice a pattern forming here. "What is it now?" he asked as evenly as possible despite his growing exasperation. You don't want to know what was going through Riolu's mind at that moment.

"_Now _where are you going?" Iris asked, confusing Dustin yet again.

"You said this way is north. I'm going north."

Iris shook her head once more. "I meant north _in general, _like when you're on the road. If you go north straight from here, you're gonna find yourself at the bottom of a cliff. Them you'll have to backtrack." She sighed, then, quite unexpectedly, smiled genuinely. "Tell you what," she continued. "Since you're new to Unova, and you don't seem to know a whole lot, I'll go with you to Striaton City. How's that sound?"

Dustin blinked. This was rather...sudden. "Uh...you will?"

"Sure!" Iris waved her hand dismissively. "It'd be a shame if you got lost this early in your journey. Especially if it's on Route 1; that would just be embarrassing. I know all about the land around these parts, so I'll help you out by being your guide. Just until Striaton City though, okay?"

"Um...okay...are you sure? I mean, I'm sure I can find my way..."

"Hey, do you want my help or not?"

"What? No, that's not what I meant!" Dustin sweated a little bit. "I, uh...I guess I'd appreciate it, since you're offering and all. I just don't see why you suddenly want to help me. It's a bit...out of the blue, if you know what I mean."

"Oh." Iris walked closer and smiled super-brightly. "It's simple, really. You clearly have no idea what you're doing after all. And also," she winked, " I'm just that nice of a person! Isn't that right Axew?"

Axew poked its head out from Iris's hair, appearing to grin. "Axew axew!"

Dustin leaned back. He wasn't quite sure how to respond, between that 'no idea what you're doing' comment and that oddly out-of-place wink. What he did eventually say was this: "Uh..."

"Alright, enough wasting time! If we're gonna go, then let's go already!" With this, Iris turned and ran over edge of the clearing. Once there - and Dustin would have done a glorious spit-take had he been drinking anything - she gracefully jumped three meters up from the base of a tree, landing perfectly on the nearest branch. She looked back at Dustin, who was still standing in the same spot. "Come on, hurry up!" she called before turning around and leaping to another tree.

Dustin, with his mouth hanging partially open, shook himself and took off after her, muttering to himself.

"I have no clue what just happened...but whatever, I'm going with it."

"Rio."

* * *

_Author's Note: _If any of you guys have ever wondered why there are so often random items scattered across the routes for you to pick up in the games, this is why. Note how Dustin never picked up that Poké Ball he threw. Yeah, it's just gonna sit there for the next Trainer who happens to go through that area. And Dustin will eventually remember that he left it behind, and promptly smack himself.

Troll face.

Anyways, I'm not proud about the wait you all had to endure, but I _AM _proud of my new longest chapter. And some chapters in the future will inevitably be longer. Such as when Dustin meets up with his former babysitter, who happens to be - WHOA HO HO. NO SPOILERS. Sorry, my bad.

(secret Troll face)

Moving on. Here is my Reader Question for all o' ya'll. What is your favorite individual video game/video game franchise (aside from Pokémon, because I assume that's why you're all reading Pokémon fanfics)? Mine is a weird tie between Assassin's Creed and Halo. Let me know yours, but only after you review!

**Coli Chibi, I'm calling you out here, stop forgetting to answer these questions. I don't like having to remind you in our PM chats.**

Oh, and one more thing. Since a new person is here, the lineup list will now be shown. See ya next time!

* * *

**Dustin's Party:**

**1: Riolu, male**

**Ability: ?**

**Move Set: Aura Sphere (we've been over this), Quick Attack, and Bite.**

**Iris's **(known) **Party:**

**1: Axew, ?**

**Ability: ?**

**Move Set: ?**


End file.
